


Escape From Central City

by Athaia



Series: Planet of the Apes: Hunted [2]
Category: Planet of the Apes (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Captivity, Fan Reboot, Gen, Male Friendship, Male-Female Friendship, Post-Apocalypse, Science Fiction, Survival, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-12-09 11:08:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 52,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11667900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Athaia/pseuds/Athaia
Summary: After their capture, Virdon and Burke find themselves in a world where intelligent, talking apes are the masters, and humans are regarded as animal pests. They seem to have found an ally in a young chimpanzee scientist, but when their attempt to escape goes horribly wrong, things suddenly turn deadly..





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks go to **Nanyish** , for taking a look at this thing after all this time, and weeding out the typos and grammar glitches!

**Year of the Lawgiver 734**

Zana silently closed the door to Zaius’ study behind her and took a deep breath. It was what she did every time she came here since she had been a little girl: inhaling the comforting mixture of leather, books, and tobacco that gave this silent, shaded abode its calming atmosphere. Sunlight filtered through the ferns and jungle plants on the window sills, transforming the office into a green-tinted clearing in the woods. Zana felt the serenity of the place coating her wariness like a thin sheet of dew; her apprehension was still there underneath, but it didn’t show as much anymore.

Or so she hoped.

„Come in, girl, why are you standing in the door like a student facing detention?“

Zana laughed and quickly crossed the floor to the big desk where Council Eldest Zaius was stuffing his pipe. „I was just thinking how your study looks more and more like your holiday lodge. How do you find your desk under all those plants?“

The old ape chuckled and lit his pipe. „I leave a trail of nutshells from here to the door.“

„I hope I haven’t disturbed it now.“ She sat down as he waved her into the seat.

„I met your father a few days ago.“

Zana sighed inwardly, but prepared herself to engage in the preliminary chitchat as gracefully as possible. You couldn’t hurry an Orangutan, and although it went against the quick and direct way of Chimpanzee communication, she had learned long ago that humoring this quirk got her faster results than trying to bully her way to the actual point of the conversation.

„He didn’t mention that to me. Perhaps he forgot.“

The Elder flicked her a shrewd look through the smoke of his pipe. „Getting older does not mean getting senile, young Zana. Not all at once, at least.“

Zana laughed again, a bit forced. „You know I didn’t mean it that way. Father doesn’t usually mention his conversations with colleagues to me. He thinks they’d bore me.“

Zaius raised his brows. „And would they?“

„It depends on the discussion partner,“ Zana said with a sweet smile. The other ape chuckled.

„Well, I was glad to see that he is in better health again. We had a delightful little chat, and he mentioned that you are slated for a promotion. Well done, Zana!“

„Thank you, Uncle Zaius.“ The familial address seemed not to be out of place, even though she was in his office and had received an official summons to meet him as Council Eldest. No doubt the real point of this meeting would be revealed soon enough, but she was sure that her promotion (whenever it would in fact materialize) wasn’t it.

„It’s amazing how much we still have to learn about humans,“ Zaius mused, smacking his pipe. Zana leaned back in her chair and watched him. Uncle Zaius wasn’t known for his interest in humans. „And thanks to your work, we have already learned much,“ he continued. „A quite impressive work. But we always knew that you had much potential. Your mother would be very proud of you. Very proud.“

„I like to think so,“ Zana said softly. Her mother had died during her year of Community Service. Zana wished she had lived at least long enough to see her graduate. She sighed and decided that she had humored the old man long enough. „I got an official summons, Uncle Zaius. I’m still trying to determine on whose toes I’ve stepped in the institute.“

„Ha! That scheming, inbred bunch!“ Zaius’ glance that told her he knew exactly that she was trying to steer the conversation. But apparently she had satisfied Orangutan etiquette enough that he allowed her that faux pas. „No, it's nothing of the kind. I have a job for you.“

„That’s... very sweet, but I already have a job.“ Zana played up the confusion in her voice to hide her annoyance. Had that been the topic of her father’s „delightful little chat“? She hoped not.

Zaius smiled thinly. „Of course. I meant to say I have an assignment for you. In your capacity as a human behavioral scientist. You have made several applications for working with adult humans, or so I’ve been told. They have so far been rejected wholesale.“

Zana inhaled sharply and sat straighter. „The institute thinks adults are too difficult to handle under the given conditions.“ She snorted, not trying to hide her irritation. „They make it sound as if I wanted to work with sharks or poisonous snakes. You wouldn’t think we use them every day for work!“

„Well, I’m pleased to tell you that I have procured some adults for you to work with.“ Zaius smiled at her as if he had just presented her the pony that she had wanted when she was five. Zana sat there for a moment, her finger tapping rapidly against the armrest of her chair. Then she stood abruptly. Zaius stared up at her, taken aback by her reaction.

„I really appreciate your and father’s concern for me and my career,“ she said in a low, controlled voice. Well, it was mostly controlled, though she could hear her fury wavering in it like heat over a noonday road. „But I neither want nor need any backroom favours. I’m perfectly capable of succeeding on my own merits!“ She turned to go.

She was already at the door when Zaius found his voice again. „Zana.“

He could be commanding, if he wanted to. She found herself looking over her shoulder, her hand still grabbing the handle. The Orangutan wasn’t meeting her eyes, seemingly engrossed in tapping out his pipe. „I’m not doing you a favour. I’m asking you for one.“

She let go of the handle and turned back to lean against the door. „What do you mean?“

Zaius rocked back in his chair and smacked his lips, as if he had a bad taste in his mouth. „I mean these humans aren’t your normal beasts of burden. They are... unusual.“

Zana slowly came back to her seat, intrigued despite herself. „Unusual in what way?“

Zaius sighed and began ruffling papers. „They are... not from here.“

“...so?“

With a huff, Zaius set down the pile of paper he had collected. „As in, ‘not from our world’!“

Zana stared at him. „I don’t understand.“

„They are not from our world,“ Zaius repeated patiently, as if she was a bit slow. „They came in a... machine, and that machine crashed down near the Toram reservation down in the South.“

„Crashed down?“ Well, yes, right now she _did_ sound as if she was a bit slow, but... _not from our world?!_

„Like a bird crashing into a window pane, yes.“ Zaius made a sweeping motion as if batting away a mosquito.

A glowing sensation spread in Zana’s chest, a bubbling giddiness that wanted to catapult her out of her seat and make her jump on Zaius’ desk with excitement. „You're saying that there are... other worlds where humans build machines that can cross the distance between there and here?“ She shook her head, grinning with glee. „They must be incredibly intelligent!“ And she was going to meet them!

Zaius’ stare was anything but gleeful. „I need you to find out everything you can about these humans - we must know of their plans. If they pose a danger to our society... if there are more of them on the way... we must be prepared.“ He absently smoothed down the paper he just had crumpled.

Zana nodded enthusiastically.

„Your findings will go directly to me,“ Zaius continued. „I don’t have to tell you that this is highly classified. No word to anyone!“

„Of course, Eldest,“ Zana vowed. „When can I begin?“

„They’ll arrive shortly.“ Zaius began to dig around in his paper pile. „Here is your authorisation and the preliminary reports from the crash site. Remember -“ he drew away the file just as she was about to take it, „classified. All of this is for your and my eyes only.“ He handed her the folder.

„Understood.“ She pressed the folder against her chest.

Zaius waved at it. „They’ll be kept in the back kennels of your institute.“

Zana frowned. In the abandoned wing? It was logical, if Zaius wanted to keep them a secret, but the basement was dank and dark, and detrimental to the humans’ health if they were to be kept there for extended periods of time... she would have to find a different solution for that.

„Why me?“

But she knew the answer - because no serious scientist bothered with studying humans. By that logic, she wasn’t a serious scientist, but a girl who had never outgrown her pony phase - only that for her, it hadn’t been ponies. At least she had been adult enough not to dream of an emergency that would force everyone to turn to her and her exotic field of expertise.

Well, not often, anyway. And now she’d make him say it out loud.

„You’re the only one who has any professional expertise in how to... how shall I say... _persuade_ humans to do your bidding voluntarily. General Urko has suggested more... robust methods, but I didn’t want to start with the big guns.“

Zana stared at him, aghast at the implication that uncle Zaius was not averse to using „the big guns“ _later._

 _„_ I’m sure we won’t need the general’s _expertise,_ Eldest,“ she stressed. „I just need sufficient time to work with them - I need to build a rapport and earn their trust before they’ll tell me anything, so don’t expect a report on your desk in a few days. _“_

 _„_ I will hold them off your back as long as I can, Zana.“ Zaius sighed, and for the first time, he looked old and frail to her. She wondered who the „they“ were that he was trying to shield her from. Probably Urko and his ilk.

Well, they wouldn’t get their paws on her humans - she hadn’t been advocating against abuse and mistreatment of humans for years, just to allow it to happen under her nose.

Zaius rose from his desk, a clear sign that she was dismissed, and so she rose with him and bowed her farewell.

At the door, a last minute thought made her turn around again.

„How many humans are we talking about?“

„Two, fortunately, only two. You’ll still have your hands more than full with them.“

„Well, I have two hands, so I guess I’ll be alright, Uncle Zaius.“

She left as silently as she had entered.

* * *

Virdon couldn’t decide if their conditions had improved or were just differently bad.

The first days of their journey had been pure agony - their mobile prison had no roof, and as the sun climbed higher, there was not a scrap of shadow left in the cage save for the thin lines of the bars; and while Burke’s skin began to redden incrementally, Virdon’s was already blistering. None of the soldiers so much as glanced at them, unless they had to relieve themselves through the bottom of the cart, which earned them the sneers and jeers of the riders following it. Nobody gave a damn that they were burning up.

On the third day, Virdon had woken with a pounding headache and a „no offense, Al, but you look like shit“ from Burke, who gave him all of their water.

The water didn’t help. The headache got worse until he felt ready to throw up. Inexplicably, he was shivering with cold, despite the sticky sweat covering his whole body. Burke’s worried face hovered above him for a moment, then vanished. Virdon squeezed his eyes shut against the blinding sun that had taken Burke’s place.

„Move your hairy ass here, monkey! My friend is sick!“

Virdon groaned silently. Had he or hadn’t he warned Burke against provoking an ape? He couldn’t remember.

Something hit the bars of their cage with a thud and he heard Burke curse.

„I swear to god, if this man here dies from a sunstroke, I’ll hold you personally responsible for it with whoever gave you your orders to deliver us _both. Alive!_ I’ll have you shoveling horse shit for the rest of your career!“

The cart came to a sudden halt and Virdon could hear the clapping of a single hoofbeat. He lay perfectly still as he felt the horse come to a halt beside the cage.

After a moment of tense silence, he heard the gravelly voice of the... the gorilla say something under his breath, and the horse being turned around. The hoofbeats were moving back to the front of the line.

Someone opened and closed the door. It suddenly got darker - and smellier - as something heavy was thrown over the cart. Virdon slowly opened his eyes as Burke crouched down beside him.

„I thought a picnic would be nice,“ Burke said. „We have water, dried fruit, and a picnic rug.“ He pointed to the ceiling that was now covered by a woolen blanket that had, by the smell of it, covered a horse not too long ago.

From then on, they finally had protection from the sun, and his sunburn and the headache were slowly fading over the following days, but the heavy rug allowed no ventilation and they lay perfectly still for most of the day, panting and sweating, too exhausted to even talk to each other. Virdon couldn’t even distract himself by watching this strange world outside his cage anymore, as the rug completely obstructed his view.

It was night when the sounds outside suddenly changed; the clapping of their horses’ hooves was louder and a bit distorted, as if the sound was thrown back from nearby walls; their cart made a lot of turns, following a winding road.

They were in a city. That would also explain why they hadn’t stopped to set up camp at sunset, as they usually did. Their leader - Virdon had heard his men addressing him as „Urko“ (and a rank, but that word was unknown to him; the tribe didn’t have military ranks) - probably wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible and not delay for another overnight stay.

Both men were sitting up now, ears strained for sounds outside their cage that could give them a clue about what was happening. The cart stopped, they heard Urko exchange words with someone, and the cart started moving, but very slowly, and soon stopped again. The cloth was yanked away and blessedly fresh, cool night air hit their skin.

The cart stood in the middle of a courtyard, surrounded by the looming shadows of two-storied buildings. High above them, the thin sickle of the waning moon shed some weak light.

„Welcome to Alcatraz,“ Burke murmured.

Torchlight surrounded them, putting them in the spotlight and distorting the people in the courtyard into blurred shadows. Blinded by the torches, Virdon could barely make out something long stabbing at him; then a thin, stringing pressure over his throat turned into a choke as the sling of a lasso pole tightened around his neck. He had no choice but to follow the pull outside, stumbling and falling to his knees while he tried to dig his fingers under the sharp twine biting into his skin.

„Careful - those are wildlings! Keep your distance before they rip your throat out.“

His hands were yanked behind his back and bound tightly, and someone put a leather contraption over his head. His jaws were pressed together as his assailant tightened the straps.

A... a muzzle. They had put a muzzle on him, as if he was some mad dog.

A sharp tug at the sling, still pulled tight around his neck, brought him to his feet. He and Burke were dragged into one of the buildings, through a dark and silent hallway, and down into the basement. Their handlers lit some lanterns installed in the walls, and a row of cages emerged from the shadows.

They were pushed and dragged to the far wall before Virdon could determine if any of the cages were actually inhabited. His hands were untied, then quickly retied in front of him, and yanked up over his head to be fixed over a hook in the wall. He glanced over to Burke who was balancing on the balls of his feet in the same awkward and painful position.

Virdon cursed himself for having let them overwhelm him so thoroughly - but there had been too many of them to try a fight or an escape... and he hadn’t been prepared for the sudden assault... His heart was beating rapidly now; the tendons in his shoulder were already beginning to ache.

„Clean them up, Tavis. They reek,“ one of the apes ordered, while two others were already rolling out a hose. Virdon tensed at the sight; judging by the size of it, the water pressure would be the equivalent of a good drubbing. He exchanged a look with Burke; the other’s eyes were dark with anticipation. He jerked involuntarily when a third ape set down a bucket at his feet with a heavy thud.

Their loincloths were ripped off unceremoniously and the ape began to scrub them down with soap and a brush. Virdon bit back a groan when the hard bristles scraped off his barely healed skin; the foam turned pink from fresh blood.

He was just catching his breath when the hosing began. It was as bad as he had expected it.

No, it was worse. The muzzle forced his jaws together so that he couldn’t even gasp for air, and the pounding water yanked his feet out from under him. He hung at the hook, feeling like drowning as the icy water beat against his ribs, his legs, his back. When they finally unhooked him and took off the muzzle, he fell to his knees, gurgling and coughing, too dazed to put up any resistance when they grabbed his hair and yanked his head back. Somewhere to his left, he heard Burke struggling, and a gruff voice telling him to hold still. „You don’t want me to accidentally cut your throat, you stupid beast, do you?“

Then he felt a blade at his own throat.

He held perfectly still as they shaved off his beard, trying to neither swallow nor cough as long as they were working on his throat. They also shaved his head, close enough to the skin to nick it from time to time - whether accidentally or not, he couldn’t say, but he didn’t even flinch. No need to give them that satisfaction.

Finally they dragged him to his cage and dumped him on the floor.

At least they took off the ropes.

Burke was coughing and wheezing in the neighbouring cell. „Well,“ Virdon heard him gasp, „lemme correct myself. This ain’t Alcatraz. It’s a goddamn _zoo.“_

Virdon slowly climbed to his hands and knees, shivering from the cold. In a corner of his cell, he found a heap of old blankets; he pulled one of them around himself and huddled down in the rest of the pile. For a while there was silence except for their coughs and sniffles.

„Next time I get a wash,“ Burke announced with clattering teeth, „I want it from beautiful, scantily-clad girls using a _sponge_. Not a brush.“ After a moment of silence, he added, „Y’know, I’m still expecting to wake up any moment. It’s... it’s just too bizarre to be true. I mean... you _are_ sure this is Earth, right?“

Virdon had spent their time with the tribe obsessively identifying plants and animals; yes, many of them were completely unknown to him. But the rest... „I’m sure. Unfortunately. And not just because of the moon.“

„Then what the hell _happened_ to it?“

That was the million dollar question. „I think...“ Virdon hesitated. „We jumped through a wormhole. Jones had just intended for us to skip the spatial dimensions. But what if he had made an error in his calculations? What if we hadn’t traveled through space, but through _time?“_

„Eh, no. How would apes take over the world? Not even in a million years from now!“

„Perhaps a parallel dimension? An alternative version of Earth, where apes are the ruling species?“ Virdon offered. He couldn’t think of any better theory right now. This world was a terrifying mixture of the familiar, the strange, and the outright bizarre. He couldn’t imagine this to be a future development of their own Earth any more than Burke.

„If this is a parallel universe, we’re fucked. Nobody will find us here,“ Burke muttered.

„We have the flight data.“ Well, he didn’t _have_ it, strictly speaking. Not at the moment. But it was still there; he just hoped the apes wouldn’t destroy it during the course of their examination. „If we could read out that information, we might get an idea how to get back.“

Burke snorted. „Well, good luck with that. These people don’t look like they’ve moved beyond the abacus.“

„Yes, but... that may not be true for the whole planet. Just like, say, Eritrea isn’t on the same level as Silicon Valley, or the tribe is nowhere near the technological level of these people...“

„I really don’t want to rain on your parade, Al,“ Burke interrupted, „but if this world had a civilisation on par to ours, this one here would’ve been erased or conquered a long time ago. Yeah, we’ll ignore some stone age tribes in the rainforests, as long as they don’t happen to sit on resources we want. But we wouldn’t ignore a culture that was sophisticated enough to move beyond the stone age. Or do you know of any 19th century cultures at home?“

He had a point, and Virdon could feel dread spreading in his chest like dark water. „We just don’t know anything about this world and its cultures. We haven’t exactly had a conversation with them about it yet,“ he objected, more to himself than to Burke.

„Besides,“ a memory lit up in him and he grasped for it like a man grasping for a torch in the silent darkness of a cave, „there may be other barriers to travel and communication.“ He quickly recounted Iro’s story of the cursed stones. „It sounded like radiation sickness to me, including the burns. There must be high radiation areas - and those can’t have developed naturally. A civilisation with nuclear power could be able to help us.“

„There are areas where the rock has a high uranium content and is radioactive,“ Burke objected. „You’re not putting your hopes on a _children's story,_ right _?“_

 _„_ I need to put my hopes on _something,“_ Virdon exploded, desperate. „Otherwise there’s no point in continuing. _“_

There was a long silence.

„Alright then.“ Burke’s voice was flat. „What’s your plan?“

 _My plan. I don’t have a plan. Look where my last plan took us._ Aloud, he said, „Get more facts about those areas. Negotiate our release - perhaps we can trade information for information...“

„You want to give them _information?“_ Burke sounded genuinely shocked.

„Not military information! I was thinking more along the lines of technological advances, like... I don’t know... a better abacus?“

„Wouldn’t that violate the prime directive?“

For the first time that day, Virdon had to grin. „We don’t have a prime directive, Pete.“

„Oh. Right.“ Virdon thought he heard a muttered „damn.“

„Well, I still say fuck those monkeys, let’s get the hell outta here,“ Burke continued in a normal voice. „Break out, get our stuff back... and some clothes... and go West, like in the good old days. I don’t have much faith in these people’s willingness to cooperate. I mean they locked us up! They’re treating us as the enemy! Why would I want to give them anything, even a damn abacus?“

„That gorilla wasn’t a leader. He didn’t like his orders, which means whoever gave those orders doesn’t share his attitude. Perhaps they can be reasoned with.“ God, he hoped so. It would be so much easier than trying to escape this place. He had no idea where they would turn to. They had no knowledge about this world, no point of reference.

„We should still have contingency plans.“ Burke wouldn’t let go of that bone.

Virdon gave in. „Fine. You just found yourself a job, Pete. Congratulations.“

„I’m perfectly okay with a prison break job, Alan,“ Burke took up his tone. „These locks are ridiculous.“

„How do you...“

„Uh, misspent youth in Jersey City.“

Virdon raised his brows. „There’s certainly a lot I don’t know about you... Major Burke.“

„Yeah, well, let’s hope we’re not stuck in here long enough for me to tell you all about it...“


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the tv series, the gorillas were the thugs and the chimpanzees were the civilized middle-class. Since we've learned a lot about gorillas and chimps in the meantime, I've taken the liberty to adjust their respective roles in my pota stories.  
> But Urko is still the same old badass gorilla he was in the seventies ;-)

Zana made her way to the institute the following day, almost running into traffic while she was rifling through the files Zaius had given her. Apparently, the humans had been able to hide _inside_ the reservation for a while before they were caught. Zana knew that the tribes of the reservation were notoriously aggressive - some even claimed they were cannibalistic - and wondered how the offworld humans had been able to survive that long.

Not much was known about the tribes, and since the area had been put under quarantine ten years ago, no more field studies had been permitted. She pursed her lips. Perhaps she could persuade the humans to tell her more about their time with the tribe; she’d be able to ease her way in with a neutral topic _and_ add to the institute’s knowledge about the Toram tribes. Win-win.

The abandoned wing was even darker than she remembered it from her student days. It hadn’t seemed so drab when they were holding their end-of-semester parties there, but without the bands and the wine, it lost much of its appeal. She shook her head as she hurried down the stairs. This was definitely not a permanent solution for these humans.

 _Her_ humans. She still had to struggle to wipe the huge grin from her face whenever that thought popped up again. A faint smile was still lingering, though, when she entered the kennel section.

The first thing she noticed was the silence from the kennels; she wasn’t quite sure what she had expected, but the total lack of movement or sounds was a bit ominous. She slowly walked down the corridor, peeking into every cage along the way.

It was the second to last cage at the end of the corridor that finally emitted some signs of being occupied, a rhythmic, heavy breathing that made her step falter for a moment. She didn’t want to barge into a... sensitive situation. It would be an unconstructive way to start their work together.

She cautiously peeked around the corner. A dark haired human was on the floor, doing push ups. For some reason, it was completely naked, and a faint sheen of sweat was covering its - his, it was a male - back, so apparently he had been at it for a while. That also explained the laboured breathing. He hadn’t noticed her yet, his gaze fixed at the floor, and she took the opportunity to appraise him for a moment.

He was in his prime, slim and lithe, and from his build and definition she’d say he was a runner. For a moment she entertained the idea of having him run and see what he could do; she was sure he could outrun most humans at the racetrack. Unfortunately, she would never have an opportunity to test that theory.

She politely cleared her throat, and he bolted upright so fast that she took an involuntary step back. For a moment, they just stared at each other. He had dark eyes with a feral glint that made her glad there were sturdy bars between them.

Then he broke his gaze, sighed and raked a hand over his shaven head, a gesture that suggested his hair had been longer before. Apparently, the staff had seen to it that they were cleaned up when they came in. Zana noticed that they hadn’t been especially careful not to damage the skin.

Or perhaps the human had struggled. He certainly seemed to be able to put up a fight.

„Good morning,“ she said brightly. „My name is Zana, and I’m here to take care of you from now on.“

The human flicked her another glance, then turned his back to her and walked into the far corner of his cage.

„Do you understand what I’m saying?“ Zana wondered. „Do you speak our language?“

The male bent down and grabbed one of the blankets from his sleeping place. He smiled at her over his shoulder while he slung it around his waist. „No.“

Well, she couldn’t have expected him to react like one of her human cubs. Her adorable, cuddly, plump cubbies... Zana decided to change her tactic. Zaius had spoken of two humans. „Where is your comrade? Is there a reason you were put in separate cages?“

The human grinned. „They wanted to keep us from fucking each other’s brains out.“

„Really?“ She tried not to sound nonplussed.

„God, _no!_ Do I look as if I’d fuck anything that moves? I’m not a friggin’ bonobo!“ The male made a mock disgusted face at her. From the adjacent cage, Zana could hear the second human cough, trying to mask a laugh.

„You’re really hurting my feelings now, Pete.“ Another male; he had a deep voice, and somehow sounded older than the one in front of her.

 _Smartasses_. Zana suddenly remembered Zaius’ words about having her hands full. She leaned back to peer into the other cage. The other male was sitting on his pile of blankets, smiling up to her. He had pale hair - a quite unusual color, but it was his eyes that had her transfixed for a moment. They were blue.

Blue eyes! She had never come across a specimen of this pale phenotype. They really looked stunning, and Zana suddenly understood the high prices the breeders took for them.

„And what is your name?“ she asked him.

He stood and came slowly towards the bars, grabbing them with both hands. His chest was marked with dark lines - ritual scarring, probably from the Ah-ti tribe, though in a pattern Zana didn’t recognize. Some of the shapes suggested birds, maybe referring to the human’s origin from the skies. She remembered that his companion wore the same markings and decided that they were the perfect ice-breaker for their next session.

„Colonel Alan Virdon, ma’am.“ He extended one hand through the bars to her.

It was a gesture of greeting, and after a moment’s hesitation, she made her way over to him and took it. If he wanted to yank her towards the cage and rip her throat out, well, that was a professional risk she had to take, right?

But he just squeezed her hand lightly and let go.

„Please accept my apologies for my colleague’s rude behaviour,“ he said, still smiling. „He gets cranky when he’s put in a cage.“

„It’s bad for my tan,“ the other one - Peet, wasn’t it? - piped up.

„Well, I see no reason to keep you in separate cages, at least,“ Zana told him. „What happened to your clothes? Weren’t you given new ones?“ She’d have a word with the head zookeeper about this. „I’ll have you outfitted and transferred somewhere less...“ _decrepit,_ but she settled for, „bleak.“

His smile deepened. „That’d be much appreciated. Especially the clothes.“

She nodded to him. „I’ll see to it right now.“ She kept a straight face when she passed... Peet’s... cage. Out of the corner of her eye she saw that he had flopped down on his bed pile and was staring at the ceiling, his momentary bout of snarkiness evaporated. The sight tugged at her heart, and she told it in no uncertain terms to stop it - this was a job, an important job, and she would remain professional. After all, these weren’t her usual cuddly toddlers. They were more like... soldiers.

Like Urko.

They might be humans, but they weren’t like any human she had seen in her life before.

* * *

 ****Dark clouds hung low over the city, and thunder was already growling at the horizon. The rain season had come unusually late this year, and Zana hadn’t brought a coat to work. She wavered on the steps of the main entrance for a moment, unsure if she shouldn’t go back and lock up her notes in her office; while she didn’t mind getting her fur wet, it would be a real bother if her work would melt away.

She firmly told herself it was only paranoia that made her carry them with her everywhere she went as she hurried across main street. The first fat drops were already hitting the pavement, so heavy that they bounced off again, making little circles in the dust. Perhaps she would have to wait out the worst of it - there was a little cafe on the plaza at the end of main street that she frequented very...

Her steps faltered as she saw the masses crowded in the square. There were so many people that the latecomers were already backlogging into the surrounding streets and alleys. Some of them waved banners, many wore the colors of the Equal Opportunities movement, green and black.

„What is going on?“ she asked an Orangutan woman squeezing past her.

„Zibaya is speaking!“ The girl bobbed with excitement.

Zibaya was one of the more charismatic speakers for the movement, unusually energetic and commanding for an Orangutan, and one that the organizers loved to bring to these rallies. Of course it made sense to send your best horse to the race; Zana doubted they could have made the leap out of obscurity without her.

„Has this rally even been authorized?“ Zana wondered. She couldn’t remember reading anything about it in the newspaper. The student glanced at her with disgust and muttered something about „Chimp tools.“ Zana felt her fur rise at the slur, but the girl had already vanished into the crowd.

On the other side of the plaza, Zibaya began to speak, although Zana didn’t understand a single word over the rolling thunder and the cheers of her fans. The rain began to fall harder now, which didn’t faze her followers, who were still blocking Zana’s path to the café. She stuffed her notes under her cardigan to give them at least a little protection against the weather and began to squeeze herself sideways through the crowd, breathing „excuse me“ and „sorry“ every few inches. Most of them ignored her, their eyes fixed straight ahead to the speaker’s platform, but she also got more than a few hostile stares; some even shoved her. When she was finally able to make out the street sign of the café, the frequency of her polite excuses had decreased from inches to several feet.

The sight of her sanctuary made her double her efforts. The terrible weather and the terrible Orangutan girl added up to at least two honey cakes and a fruity cocktail...

Suddenly the mass of people in her back tumbled against her like an incoming surf. Zana was squeezed hard against somebody’s back, shoving him or her against the next row, but the movement didn’t travel further and she found herself clamped down. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t _breathe,_ and she felt panic exploding in her chest along with the pain of her struggling lungs.

For a moment, the pressure subsided, and she gasped for air, but then the whole mass of people began to shake and weave like untethered crates on a toppling wagon. Cheers turned into screams and high pitched wails. _Everyone_ was panicking now.

„Police! They’re kettling us!“

_Don’t let them push you off your feet!_

She struggled without concern for her neighbours’ health, just fighting not to get drawn under, shoving, pushing, climbing, and in one case, elbowing somebody in the face. If she could only get the few steps to the cafe, she’d be safe. Just a few steps...

Hands were clawing her back, people trying to use her as a handle to get out of the maelstrom, then somebody grabbed her hand and pulled her into the _right_ direction, towards the cafe. She hung on to that stranger’s hand with all her might, her other hand still pressed against her chest, against her notes. Another pull, and she tumbled against the soaked shirt of her rescuer.

Glass was shattering somewhere. The panicked cries took on another quality, becoming more regular, and lower pitched. Furious. Roaring. The crowd had identified its attacker and was coming around to do battle. Beyond the shoving and pushing protesters, Zana could make out the helmets and shields of the city guard.

„Huh. I guess we better go inside,“ her saviour said. Still dazed, Zana felt a hand between her shoulderblades, pushing her gently towards the door. „The weather seems to be getting worse. And I heard they make terrific waffles here. Do you mind if I’d invite you? You seem to be in need of a waffle right now.“

„I am,“ Zana said, surprised at how calm her voice sounded, „in terrible need of a _cocktail_ right now. With a paper umbrella.“

„Not a problem,“ her escort said. She looked over to him for the first time and noticed that he was also a Chimpanzee. She wondered how he had gotten caught up in this mess. Probably as accidentally as she.

Not too bad looking. Not that she was in the mood for a date right now.

The young man led her to a table at the far end of the room, tucked into a niche from where she couldn’t see the front windows anymore, and held her chair. Zana sat down, secretly delighted at his courteous manner. If he also proved to be a good conversationalist, she’d have to rethink her mood for a date...

The Chimp sat down across the table, only to immediately rise again for a half-bow. „Ack, how terribly rude of me,“ he said with a smile. „Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Atiba Galen.“

Zana raised her brows at that. Although she didn’t know any of them personally, she of course knew the name. Her father might have mentioned the name Atiba once or twice, usually with a growled qualifier like „obstinate,“ „rude,“ or „contrarian.“ It was nice to see that the son was apparently completely unlike his father.

„Dhyendhye Zana,“ she introduced herself and suppressed a smile when she noticed the same glint of recognition and quick calculation in Galen’s eyes. True children of councillors - they just couldn’t help themselves.

While they waited for their drinks to arrive, Zana pulled out her folder to check for water damage (it was almost dry, thankfully). Galen eyed it with interest, but didn’t say anything when she put it down on the bench beside her.

„So, what did you think of professor Zibaya’s take on the council’s latest education reform?“ Galen asked in the light conversational tone he had probably perfected in countless dinner parties.

„If you mean the speech she just held outside, I couldn’t understand a word she said. I was a bit preoccupied with surviving a stampede.“

„Ah. Yes. Well, that would be a bit distracting, I can imagine,“ Galen said in the same soft voice. Zana thought she could detect a hint of irony.

„I’ve heard her before, tough, and she’s right on many counts,“ she continued. „I just think the movement’s efforts are a bit... narrow.“

„Oh?“

„Well, I’ve been called a ‘Chimp tool’ just this afternoon. Apparently _we_ are still fair game when it comes to racist remarks.“ She tried not to sound bitter.

Galen shrugged. „We are seen as the enforcers of the system. Of course they would call us names.“

„Excuse me? ‘We’? I’m a scientist! Just because a lot of Chimps are members of the military and the police force doesn’t mean everyone can call me a thug!“ Her finger tapped rapidly against her glass, but at least she had managed to keep her voice down.

„Oh I wouldn’t call them thugs,“ Galen said in that deceptively casual tone that she had come to identify as his way of being ironic, „at least not within their hearing range.“

„See?“ She pointed. „That is _exactly_ the point!“

Galen smiled at her, not in the least irritated by her outrage. „What _is_ your point, Zana?“

„Chimps are driven into these sectors because of racial prejudice, just like Gorillas are expected to be too dumb for anything except tilling the fields! The Orangs like to think they are the brains, we are the brawns, and the Gorillas are the poor children that they have to kindly take care of!“ Zana hissed.

„We have Chimpanzee scientists, heck, we have a Gorilla _general,“_ she tried not to be horrified at herself for using _Urko,_ of all people, to support her argument, „but does that in any way change the way society perceives us? No. It has become a self-fulfilling prophecy. And the movement is, consciously or unconsciously, colluding with the system they proclaim to oppose, by forcing the Chimp community to side with the very people who put them into that straightjacket!“

She had to pause to catch her breath; she'd let herself get carried away again. Well, the topic did raise her hackles. Zana took a sip from her cocktail to hide her embarrassment.

Galen leaned back. „You’re a good speaker, Zana,“ he said admiringly, „you, you should _definitely_ speak at one of those rallies!“

Zana snorted. „No thanks. I’m sympathetic to their cause, but I love my work more. I’m not eager to get caught in the middle like today. That was very kind of you, by the way,“ she added, calmer, „and I’m terribly sorry I forgot to thank you for it earlier. I think you saved my life.“

Galen waved her thanks away. „Oh, don’t mention it. Anybody would have done that.“

„But anybody didn’t,“ Zana pointed out. She smiled and raised her glass. „Nor did they buy me a drink afterwards.“

„Oh.“ Galen seemed to be taken aback, but pleased. „Well, if you like, we could repeat it some time. Not the getting stampeded,“ he added hastily, „but I know a nice restaurant that has opened only recently. They offer a very nice menu, and I’ve been told they have a terrific drummer band.“

Zana took a deep draw from her glass to hide her grin. The unthinkable was happening: she was getting a date. „Well, I have to check my calendar,“ she said coyly, „I’m swamped with work right now...“

„Ah yes, those strange humans you’re working with.“ Galen smiled innocently when she stared. „I’m the Council Eldest’s personal assistant. I assure you, your secret is safe with me.“

Zana sank back into her seat, suddenly feeling cold and wary. „I’m sorry, but that information is classified. And since you’re not a member of the council, you don’t have clearance for it.“ And just when had Galen become Zaius’ assistant? And why hadn’t her father mentioned it to her?

„Oh. Oh, no!“ Galen held up his hands. „I don’t intend to get you into a pickle by asking nosy questions!“

„Then why mention it at all?“

„Well, it is always so inconvenient if one suffers a slip of the tongue, so I just...“

„I can assure you, Galen,“ Zana said slowly. „My tongue doesn’t slip unless I want it to.“

That... hadn’t come out as she had intended it. Zana eyed her cocktail. Must’ve been the cocktail.

„I have absolutely no doubt about that.“ Galen’s face was expressionless. Somehow she could still sense that he was laughing. She cleared her throat.

„Well, the weather seems to be clearing up,“ she said. „I’d better be going.“

Galen jumped out of his seat when she rose. „I’ll see you home. No, I insist!“

She didn’t put up as much resistance to that as she had planned; in fact, she didn’t even protest when he took the longer way - much longer way - through the back alleys, claiming they had to in order to avoid the guards, who were hunting down the last protesters.

Her strangely good mood persisted even after he had delivered her at her home, and she smiled indulgently when her father put his arm around her shoulders.

„That Atiba boy, huh?“ he rumbled. „Never thought I’d see him grow up to something respectable. Sometimes they surprise you in a good way. Are you seeing each other now?“

Zana inhaled deeply, tasting the scent of night orchids and rain on her tongue. „I think we are, Dad.“

* * *

„ _I_ will feed them, move them, and talk with them from now on,“ Zana instructed the zookeepers. „There will be no other ape inside the compound with them at any time.“ She had to work quickly, if what Zaius had hinted at was true, and the quickest way to build rapport was if _she_ was the only break in the humans’ monotonous and sense-deprived routine. It wasn’t what she’d define as species-appropriate husbandry, but she had to make the best of the restraints she had been put under.

„And you’ll also empty their buckets?“ the head zookeeper asked.

Zana smiled thinly at his insolent tone. „No, Gula. Since you’re so eager to help, that will be your responsibility. When the humans are in their open-air enclosure.“

She waved them away and quickly went over her notes again. The blue-eyed human - Were-donn, though he encouraged her to just call him Alan - seemed to have been eager to cooperate with her, readily answering her questions about the reservation, although he demanded that she answer his questions about her world in return. Zana had been careful to only give him anecdotal information - nothing that he could use against them. She still felt somewhat uncomfortable about the whole exchange; she was pretty certain that Zaius would have disapproved.

She hadn’t mentioned it in her report.

Alan’s cooperation had stopped, unsurprisingly, when the topic had changed to his origin and intentions for her world. He insisted that their crash had been an accident, a navigational error when they had actually been on their way home. Zana sighed and turned a page.

Peet (she had given up on trying to pronounce his other name, especially since he covered his ears as if in pain every time she tried) was much more obstinate. She had noticed how his eyes had scanned his surroundings when they were transferred to their new kennels, not in the wide-eyed panic of a wild animal being herded between buildings, but like an inmate checking for weaknesses in the outfit of his prison. During his interviews, he had been equally evasive, trying to throw her off with his snark and idioms that were clearly translations from his own language and that made only sense in a context that Zana was invariably lacking.

He was a royal pain in the behind. She was looking forward to their next round.

Well, perhaps she could bribe them into divulging more information about their machine today. She had restricted their movements for the last days, claiming bad weather didn’t allow them to peruse their open-air enclosure, and had monitored their reactions to the forced inactivity. Predictably, it had gotten to Peet faster than to the more laid-back Alan. Zana suspected that once she managed to break through Peet’s resistance, she’d harvest way more information than from the oh so mellow-looking Alan.

The men looked up from a board game they had scratched into the cage floor when she entered. „Good news,“ Zana said cheerfully, „the weather has cleared up. In a day or two, you can go outside again.“

„We could go outside now,“ Peet suggested. „I don’t mind if it’s still wet.“

She smiled at him, as if considering his request. „Well, perhaps you’re right. We’ll see if we still have time for a breath of fresh air later... after we’ve done our homework for today.“

Peet made a disgusted sound and turned away.

„I need to ask these questions, Peet,“ Zana addressed his back. „I have superiors who want results, and I can assure you that you’ll prefer me over anyone they’d send in my place if they find them lacking.“

He whipped around at that. „We’ve moved from bribes to threats already? Y’know there’s a difference between accurate information you don’t _like_ , and false information that you _recognize_. Your bosses have already made up their minds about us, and you’re just trying to bully us into confirming their story! What’s next, do we have to sign a denouncement of US foreign policy?“

„I have no idea what theories my superiors are discussing at the moment,“ Zana retorted, ignoring yet another of his idiomatic remarks. „But what I do know is that you’ve divulged neither inconvenient nor invalid information yet. What you’ve given me so far was simply _irrelevant!“_

He sneered at her. „I can stick to my rank and number, if you prefer. But it would be much less entertaining.“

„Pete has a point,“ Alan’s calm voice cut through their argument. „I’ve told you more than once that we didn’t intend to disturb the peace here. We don’t even know where we are, relative to our home. There is no invading fleet on its way to your world. It was an accident, and all we want is to return home. I have a wife and two children - I miss them very much.“

She hadn’t known - he hadn’t mentioned that detail before. She couldn’t know if it was even true, or if he was just trying to manipulate her, and told him as much.

Alan swallowed. „I can prove that piece of information, at least. I had a necklace when we were captured; it had two pendants, about this size,“ he held his fingers apart to demonstrate, „with the portraits of my wife and my son etched in. They took it away, but I’m sure it’s here somewhere, in an evidence room or something similar. If you could find it, you’d see that I told you the truth.“ He smiled a crooked smile. „And since you’ve then seen me telling the truth once, you’d have a model of what I look like when I’m doing that.“

It sounded good, except for one detail. „You just told me you had two children, not one.“

His smile didn’t waver, but his eyes were sad. „My wife was pregnant with our daughter when I left for our mission. I’ve never seen her. She must’ve been born by now.“ He took a deep breath. „If you find that necklace, I’d be very grateful if you could let me have it again. Please? It is of no use to any of you.“

Zana was silent for a moment; Alan had just given her something she could use as a bribe for more information. He had to be in a worse emotional shape than she had realized to make such a mistake. „I’ll see what I can do.“ She fiddled with her notes, avoiding eye contact. „It would be helpful if you’d answer my questions, Alan, because I can’t keep you safe if I’m no longer in charge of you.“ She looked up again; Alan’s gaze was still on her, his face unreadable now. „I believe you, if that makes any difference.“ She glanced towards Peet, who was lazily rattling their playing stones in his hollow fist, his face sullen and distant.

„In the end, it really doesn’t,“ Alan said finally. „Like Pete said, your superiors seem to have already made up their minds about us... and that doesn’t bode well for us, I’m afraid. I don’t think you can keep us safe from _them.“_

Zana remembered Zaius’ offhand remark about bringing out the ‘big guns’. But he couldn’t have meant... She frowned at the human. „Don’t be ridiculous. We’re civilized people. You don’t have to fear anything - what’s so funny?“ she snapped when Peet started to laugh, but he just shook his head and said nothing.

She decided to break off their session then. They had hit a wall, again - the same wall they had been hitting for days; it was no use trying to force her way through now. She’d have to wear down their resistance by other means somehow... perhaps by separating them from each other...

Zana stopped in her tracks. Solitary confinement was cruel! It was one of the most destructive things one could do to a human, and here she was seriously contemplating it, because she thought it would save her humans from even _worse_ things that Urko and... and Uncle Zaius could do to them?

_What is happening with me?_


	3. Chapter 3

„Come in,“ Galen heard Zana mumble absently when he knocked softly at her door. She was fighting with an unwieldy scroll and didn’t look up when he entered, just waved vaguely at her already overflowing desk. „Just put it there,“ with an implied _whatever it is,_ „I’ll look at it later.“

„I’ll just sit down, then, until you’re free to look at me.“ Galen carefully moved a small tower of books from the only chair to the floor, and smiled at her perplexed stare. „I’m afraid I only brought myself, you see?“

She smiled back, pleased and surprised. „Galen! What are you doing here?“

„I just wanted to see how you’re doing after yesterday’s excitement.“ And he had wanted to seize the opportunity to build a connection as long as the memory of his heroic rescue was still fresh in her mind.

„Oh, I, I’m fine. The healing power of fruity cocktails is not to be underestimated.“ She leaned back in her seat, visibly glad to have a reason not to look at whatever regulations she had been fighting with.

Galen smiled at her. „I’m so glad to hear that - but then you’re also a formidable woman.“ It wasn’t even a lie - when he pulled her out of the panicking crowd, she had strongly reminded him of his mother, who had mastered the art of never losing her composure. „I know a lot of people who would have taken sick leave after yesterday. It’s all over the city by now - word is that Zibaya was calling for overthrowing the council. I heard Urko was chomping at the bit to arrest her. But of course the professor has connections...“ He studied his fingernails.

„Urko! That Gorilla is eager to arrest everyone!“ Zana sputtered with indignance. „And if he can’t lock up Zibaya, he’ll just club down as many of her supporters as possible! No supporters, no movement.“ She slumped back into her chair, her anger deflating all of a sudden. Galen suspected she had realized that she wasn’t out on the streets herself, supporting the high-brow revolutionary like she ought to. It was just like her to put impossibly high expectations on herself, if that little speech she had given in the café yesterday was any indication.

„Is that right? Huh.“ He took care to keep his voice and expression neutral. He didn’t want her to think that _he_ would expect anything like that from her.

She leaned forward again, her face suddenly anxious. „It’s almost as if he’s... _hoping_ that things will escalate. Like they did with the humans fifteen years ago.“ Her voice took on an urgent tone. „Galen, do you think it’s possible that Urko plans something? That he intends to grab the power from the council and make himself the sole leader of the apes?“

Galen’s eyes widened. That was a dangerous thought that she needed to let go of immediately. „Zana... Zana. Calm down. You’re jumping to completely unfounded conclusions here. Surely you aren’t... _accusing_ General Urko of trying to depose the Council Eldest?“

„Of course not! I’m not an idiot!“ She stood and wandered over to her window, staring out over the institute grounds for a moment.

Then she turned back to Galen, arms crossed. „Though between you and me, I do wonder. If Zaius doesn’t get the situation with Zibaya’s movement under control, people will start looking for someone who will. Or makes them believe he will.“

Galen shook his head. Her sharp mind was one of the things that had attracted him to her. Unfortunately, it was currently focusing on the wrong topic. Dangerous topic. He didn’t want her to maneuver herself into the line of fire. „I would try to forget that line of thought, Zana. Really, it leads to nothing; Zaius is scheming and outmaneuvering everybody else as always. Let it rest.“

Zana ignored that. „Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary lately? Any, I don’t know, shifts of power inside the council?“

„Well, if I had, I guess that would be classified information,“ Galen teased her. „And you would need to work hard to earn clearance.... I’ve become Zaius’ assistant only recently,“ he changed to a more serious tone when he noticed her irritation. „But I can keep my eyes and ears open for you, if it makes you feel better.“

„It would make me feel better, Galen. Thank you.“ Her voice was still sharp with annoyance. „Do you think I should talk to Zaius about yesterday?“

Galen leaned back and regarded her with amused exasperation. „I think that you will do whatever you have set your mind on anyway, but no, you shouldn’t.“

„I’ve known him since I was a little girl...“

„And he’s been a politician long before either of us was even born. I really doubt that the scheming old bastard - and I say that in the most loving way imaginable - will spill his heart to you.“

„Perhaps you’re right.“ The determination in her eyes didn’t change one bit.

Galen flicked her a wry glance, but decided to let her find out for herself. He had more urgent things on his mind. „Have you already made plans for tonight?“

She sighed and waved the scroll. „Fighting with the regulations is my plan, which could well take all night. Peet asked me if I couldn’t take him outside the institute for a walk - he says being confined to a cage all the time is driving him crazy. He’d even accept a leash...“

„Why wouldn’t he?“ Galen asked, surprised.

„He’s a _wildling,_ Galen, he’s never worn a collar in his life and knowing him, I’d have sworn he’d never accept one, either. That he made that suggestion means he must be really desperate. But then no animal caught in the wild ever really tolerates captivity. You remember that tiger they had in the zoo when we were children?“

Galen nodded. Neither of them could remember how that animal had found its way into the city zoo, but the sign on its cage boasted that it had been caught in the jungles of the Eastern continent. He remembered how the beast had been pacing its cage, back and forth, back and forth, never stopping a moment to rest.

„Peet is climbing the walls. It’s driving me slightly crazy.“ She laughed, a little sheepishly. „I actually wondered how Alan put up with it all day.“ She put down the scroll. „So far, I haven’t found anything that would forbid it. But I’ve also found nothing that would _allow_ it, and I’d like to have some inked backup before I put in that request.“

„I’d be happy to put in a word for your human, that regulation be damned,“ Galen offered. „I’m sure you can handle it, no matter if it’s a wildling or not. Of course, my word would have much more authority if I could say I’d actually _seen_ them...“

They stared at each other for a moment, the expression in Zana’s eyes wavering between irritation and amusement. Finally she sighed, smoothing her hair, and sat back down on her desk. She began to shuffle the papers on it around; Galen kept his mouth shut and his hands still.

„Oh, alright. Why not. I mean, you know about them anyway.“

Galen suspected that there was more behind her decision than simply submitting to his flattery, but he didn’t let that thought show on his face. He beamed. „Thank you, Zana. That’s terrific - I can’t tell you how long...“

„There’s something I’d need you to do for me first, though.“

Now it was Galen’s turn to waver, only for him, it was a battle between amusement and cynicism. He had actually pegged her as one of the few apes who didn’t press favours when they felt they had the upper hand. „Oh?“

„One of the humans had a necklace with two pendants - pictures of his wife and son. It was confiscated along with the rest of their possessions and he has asked me if he could have it back. I thought it was a small request that would hurt nobody to grant, but apparently, I underestimated our bureaucrats’ capacity for pettiness.“ She opened her hands. „If you could find it for me, I’d be ever so grateful - and so would be the human, I’m sure.“

She had managed to surprise him - _favourably_ surprise him. That was something he hadn’t thought possible anymore. Galen nodded slowly. „I agree, it’s a small thing to ask for. I’m sure nobody would miss it - it doesn’t sound like a vital piece of evidence.“ He smiled a crooked smile. „But don’t judge your bureaucrats so quickly, dear - I’m quite sure they didn’t refuse you out of pettiness. I think I have a pretty good idea where to look for your human’s necklace.“

„It would be a nice way to introduce yourself and build rapport, too.“ Zana smoothed out the scroll, apparently still determined to find a paragraph that would make her excursion with the human unassailable.

Galen stroked his chin thoughtfully. Fascinating as those particular humans were, he couldn’t let them distract him now. „How about the day after tomorrow?“

„What about it?“ Her mind was already elsewhere. Galen suppressed a sigh.

„I had asked you about your plans for tonight... and since you’re busy...“

„Mmh. Tomorrow is fine.“ She didn’t look up from the scroll.

„Because I wanted to invite you for dinner over at my parents’ house,“ Galen casually dropped his bomb.

She froze for a moment. When she looked up, he was surprised at the apprehension showing on Zana’s face. He’d have thought she was used to being asked out. But she looked almost panicked. „I’m looking forward to that,“ she mumbled, and Galen smiled wanly, suddenly feeling like a manipulative prick.

„Well then... around seven? I’ll come by your father’s house and pick you up.“

„Yes. That’s how we’ll do it.“

A moment of awkward silence.

„Great.“ Galen stood. „Uhm... I should be going. You are busy and I, ah... should be busy, too.“ He retreated to the door. „Until then, then.“

She nodded, a strained smile glued on her face. „See you then.“

He took a deep breath when the door had closed behind him. He shouldn’t feel guilty for asking her out. She was smart, passionate, brave, and pretty.

And, well, she had been given the most fascinating assignment; from Zaius, no less. That didn’t cancel out all the other reasons he wanted to get to know her better!

Why, then, did he feel like a bastard?

* * *

„How was your dog walk?“

„Fantastic.“ Burke grinned into the darkness. „She even bought me ice cream.“

„Bastard.“

He chuckled. „I would’ve brought you some, too, but it melted away so quickly...“

„Did you also remember your actual objective, Major?“

„Of course, sir. I spotted the council building between the banana and the strawberry scoop...“

A sigh. „Pete...“

Burke sat up again. „Oh, alright...“

 

„Are you _sure_ you want to put up with all of this just for a walk down the street?“ Zana held up a bunch of leather straps that looked as if she had raided a BDSM store. Her expression was as doubtful as Burke felt right now.

According to Zana, there was actually no way that either he or Al would ever be allowed to roam the streets - to her superiors, they were the vanguard of an alien invasion force, until proven otherwise. By an unspoken agreement, neither he nor Zana had discussed the impossibility of that particular proof in that moment; they had hit that impasse too many times before. Burke just wanted her to find a loophole that would allow him to get out of their cage for once.

Zana _had_ found a way at last, though she wouldn’t tell him how or where, except that it meant he had to be rendered unable to flee or attack when in public.

To that end, Zana was holding fetters, handcuffs... and a muzzle.

_Where the hell did she find that loophole? In the animal control handbook?_

He’d be hobbling through the streets with a leather mask over his face. He’d be a one-man circus. Burke sighed and raked a hand through his hair.

„Yeah, I’m sure,“ he said finally. „I need to get out or I’ll start chewing my leg off.“

„I take it you don’t mean that literally,“ Zana said dryly. „Alright then, turn around.“

He couldn’t tell her, but he was under orders: Get the layout of the city. Get the scoop on the fastest way out, and on their security measures. And of course, try to tease out where the apes were storing their stuff, because Al was hell-bent on finding someone who could build them a spaceship, and Burke had given up on trying to dissuade him from that crazy idea. They’d leave with the data disc, or not at all, so he’d better find a way to make Zana slip up about that little fact.

That last bit would be a bit difficult if he had to wear that thing on his face, though.

„Do we really need the muzzle? I can’t breathe properly through that thing.“

„I’m afraid it’s all or nothing,“ Zana said as she reached up to pull it over his head. „Remember that this wasn’t my idea.“ She took his leash. „Though I admit it’s nice not to have to listen to your smartassery once in a while.“

„Nghy!“

People stared. Naturally. People also pointed, whispered, laughed and asked silly questions. One wanted to buy him. At the third intersection, Zana pulled him into a doorway.

„This is ridiculous!“ She took off the muzzle, the handcuffs, and bent down to open his fetters. Burke loosened his jaw and tried not to show his surprise.

„You’re taking a pretty big risk here, y’know? I could be off in a second, and you’d never catch up with me.“

She rocked back on her haunches to look up at him. „Well yes, I _am_ taking a risk,“ she huffed and began to stuff his gear into her handbag. „But I like to think it’s a calculated one. You wouldn’t leave your friend behind.“ She stood and dumped the bag into his arms.

„What, am I going to carry _your_ bag for you now?“ Burke called after her.

She turned around and sniffed. „Of course you are, human. Now get moving!“ She imperiously jerked her chin towards the street. „I heard they’re selling ice cream at the plaza.“

 

„It was a pretty nice afternoon, after she unmuzzled me, an’ all. But the city is... it’s hard to form a map in my head. It’s not designed like a human city. It’s more like... a jungle, y’know? With paths and clearings... not just the green stuff - they have that too, so much that you think you’ve already left the city. But... you have a street, alright - but it ends in a little courtyard. And after that courtyard, there’s another courtyard, and you go from courtyard to courtyard, they’re all connected through archways, and you begin to ask yourself when you’ll come out at the other side and walk on a street again. It’s a firefighter’s nightmare. Not to mention that a lot of houses are built _in_ the trees...“

He yawned. „The good thing is that it’s built on the slope of a hill, so if we just go downhill, we’ll hit the city walls sooner or later.“

„But you didn’t get to the city walls?“

„No. We had no reason to go that far downhill, and I didn’t want to make her suspicious. Since I was so well-behaved, she promised me another walk. Perhaps I can persuade her that I need a change in scenery and not roam the same old streets again.“

He lay down again with a satisfied groan. Walking all day had been more taxing than he’d care to admit. All those pushups and basketball sessions were no real substitute for his running routine. Perhaps he could persuade Zana to let him run laps on the institute’s grounds? He should include Al, too - once they had cleared the city premises, running would be their default mode of traveling. Better train the old man now, while they still had the time.

„What do you think you’re doing, Pete? Your workday isn’t over yet.“ Alan was hovering over his cot. Burke suppressed a groan.

Then he rolled over and felt for his lockpicks.

Of course the institute hadn’t been so accommodating to have some old bicycle lying around (did they even know bikes? He hadn’t seen one in the city. He had to ask Zana...) whose wheel spikes he could repurpose. The best substitute he had found was a vicious looking shrub sprawling at the foot of every wall all over the institute’s grounds. It had thorns as long as his middle finger that were hard as steel, and while he suspected that the shrubbery didn’t grow by accident at every wall that one would need to climb if one wanted to make an unauthorised stroll into the city, they also made a handy substitute for actual lockpicks.

He had acquired several of them by claiming to follow nature’s call, while Al had distracted Zana with botanical questions. According to him, the thing looked like sea buckthorn, except that its flowers were a striking blue. Zana, delighted to have found an area of interest for Virdon, had brought a book the next day, and they had spent the afternoon identifying the plants Virdon knew from home (by pointing at the pictures. The script looked like paw prints to Burke, not that he participated in the game; he was busy harvesting more thorns in case some did break when applied to actual steel).

Now was the time to put them to the test - he just hoped they wouldn’t break and get stuck in the mechanic... that’d be hard to explain tomorrow. It wasn’t easy anyway, fumbling around in the dark, but the fact that the locksmiths around here had reached some level of sophistication worked in his favour: the locks weren’t some Middle Ages-style clunky lump of metal, but pretty delicate and light. They didn’t put up much resistance to his probing.

„Got it.“ The door swung open.

„Excellent.“

Burke grabbed Virdon’s arm in the dark. „Where you think you’re going?“

„I don’t think anyone here would notice the color of my hair now, Pete.“ Virdon sounded a bit irritated.

„Yeah, but if anyone comes by here to see if we’re still tucked in nicely, they’d know something’s up. It’s not enough to make two bedrolls - they need to hear us breathing, too. We can’t be both out at the same time!“

After a moment of silence, Virdon sighed and went back inside. „Somehow you’re hogging all the fun.“

Burke grinned. „’m just following your orders, remember. Oh, and try to snore, that’ll mask the fact that it’s only one person breathing.“ He gave Virdon a cheerful slap on the arm. „I know you can do it, Al - I heard you often enough.“

He slipped out of their cage to Virdon’s hissed _„ I don’t snore!“_ and jogged down the corridor, his naked feet making no sound on the stone tiles. He knew the layout of the wing, as they were led through it to their open air enclosure every day, but tonight, he’d visit some of the off-limit areas, namely the offices on the upper floor. There was a slim chance that their stuff was locked away somewhere here... for „research purposes“. Yeah, right.

The compound was silent and seemingly abandoned, but he still kept to the shadows. You just never knew; with the dangerous humans around, they might have introduced a night watch, if they didn’t have one in the first place, and he wasn’t taking any chances. The first building he tried held only a cafeteria and several lecture halls, but with the second one, he struck gold.

Every door was locked, which meant he had to lock it again after he had searched the room, and while that cost him precious time, the utter silence in the corridors relaxed him enough not to be bothered about it too much. Most of the offices were unproductive - just reams of paper with script he couldn’t read. Some held knicknacks, but none of it belonged to him or Virdon. His nightly escapade began to look more and more like a waste of time. He suppressed a yawn and began to pick the next lock when he heard the door open on the lower level.

Burke froze for a moment. A light was moving towards the stairs, and he heard the door handles being rattled. So they did have security on the grounds. He’d feel vindicated in a moment... after he was safely inside this room, with the door locked behind him.

He felt the thorn fold inside the lock and cursed silently. Of course _this_ damn lock had to jam! Fortunately, the stick hadn’t snapped completely. He carefully eased it loose and inserted another one.

The steps were on the stairs now, the light of a lantern dancing on the walls. Burke felt sweat collecting on his upper lip as he juggled the thorn between the pins. _Come on sweetheart, move..._ he felt the pins line up, turned the lock just as the guard came up the stairs, and slipped inside.

Leaning heavily against the door, he quickly threaded the thorns back in. The guard was testing every door, which meant he had to lock himself in, or all hell would break loose. While Burke was reasonably sure that he could use the darkness and the element of surprise to his advantage and knock him out, they’d be the prime suspects anyway, no matter whether he lost the lockpicks on his way back. He didn’t want to jeopardize the wiggle room they had worked for so diligently.

He turned the lock at the same moment he heard the guard rattle the door adjacent to his room and breathed a sigh of relief. That had been close! He wiped the sweat from his lip and jerked away from the door when the guard tested its handle.

Then he heard a key inserted into the lock.

_Shit!_

Had the ape heard the lock turning when he tested the other handle? Burke retreated hastily into the darkness until he felt the edge of a desk boring into his thighs. A small sliver of light appeared as the door opened. He dove behind the desk and squeezed himself into the small space underneath. The light of the lantern flickered over the walls as the guard peered into the room. He took a step in, and Burke held his breath.

Then the light disappeared again and he heard the lock turn. The steps went down the corridor, and he heard the next door handle rattle.

For a moment, he just sat there, until his breath came more easily. After he’d cleared this floor, he’d call it a night. No need to challenge the gods like that.

The full moon was shining through the window now, which made his search easier. It was a tiny office, the smallest he had come across so far, and it was stuffed up to the ceiling with scrolls, books, and what looked like the first attempts at clay modelling by kindergarteners. Even the pictures on the walls looked like they were made by preschoolers. They showed the usual motifs: sun, trees, flowers, stick-figures and what looked like a stick-ape. Everyone was smiling, so whoever had painted those masterpieces was presumably treated well by stick-ape.

When he turned away from the wall, his gaze fell on a framed picture on the desk. He took it and went to the window to have a better look.

It showed a young Chimp woman with an elderly Orangutan smiling at whoever had taken that photo (so they already had cameras, huh? Looked like a black and white photo, though; or sepia - it was hard to tell in the moonlight). The Chimp was wearing a robe and holding a scroll; the Orangutan had draped his arms around her shoulders, fatherly pride clearly written in his face.

He was looking at Zana, Burke realized, Zana and an unknown Orangutan. The photo had probably been made at her graduation, judging by the scroll in her hand. He carefully put the picture back onto her desk.

Yeah, time to call it a night. He suddenly had no taste for sneaking into offices anymore.


	4. Chapter 4

„Are you done fussing over me, mom?“ Burke leaned back to avoid Zana tugging again at his collar. Her constant grooming betrayed her nervousness, but it was driving him crazy, too. The whole day had started off wrong, though he suspected the sudden announcement that they were to be brought before her superiors had been designed to throw them off like that.

„I told Zaius you’re harmless, which is why he allowed me to bring you to the session - so you have the chance to make a good impression on them.“ Zana pointed at him. „That means you, especially, Peet - no jokes or disrespect!“

He mock saluted her. „I’ll be on my best behaviour, ma’am!“

She stared at him. „Do you even know what ‘best behaviour’ means?“

Burke decided to spare her a witty reply. He didn’t feel like joking today.

They had fallen into a routine that was as frustrating as it was comforting in its monotony - sleep, eat, stare at the walls until they were either let out into their open air enclosure, or questioned by Zana... always the same questions, round and round, ad nauseam... go back inside, eat, sleep.

That, at least, was the official routine. In reality, their nights were spent with sneaking around the institute, looking for that damn data disc and scouting out ways to get over the outer walls without setting off an alarm. It had been exciting for the first few nights, but by now, Burke was convinced that the disc was nowhere in the institute; it had to be somewhere in the city, and they didn’t have the faintest idea where to even start looking. He was ready to leave without it - the longer they stayed here, the more probable it became that the apes would lose their patience and put the thumbscrews on them. The only wall standing between him and freedom was Al’s stubborn refusal to leave without the damn thing - and Al was the proverbial immovable object in that regard.

He should’ve felt vindicated by today’s foreseeable escalation, but Burke just felt worried.

Zana took a step back and gave both of them a critical once over. Their faces had been shaved clean, scrubbed so hard that their skin had begun to glow red, and given new clothes. Their hair, which she had allowed them to grow out to its original length, was still wet and plastered to their heads.

They still didn’t seem to pass muster; with a sigh, Zana began to climb the stairs to the council building with them, their Chimp security following a few steps behind.

„’Best behaviour’ means no staring, no eye contact at all. It means you don’t speak unless you’re asked a question or have been given permission to speak up yourself. It means you’ll address every ape with ‘Sir,’ and General Urko with his rank. No, forget that - don’t address Urko at all, if you can avoid it!“ She nervously tugged at the sleeves of her cardigan. „Zaius is addressed as ‘Council Eldest.’ His word has considerable weight, so _please,_ do try not to antagonize him.“

Burke raised his brow. „Well, as long as I don’t have to address anyone as ‘Master’ or ‘Missus’...“

Zana flicked him a glance, but just repeated, „I told them you’re harmless. _Be_ harmless!“

Burke wondered what she had actually meant to tell him.

Virdon frowned. „What is Urko doing there? I thought you said it’s an academy meeting.“

They were entering the building and Zana lowered her voice, probably because the marble walls and the high ceiling carried one’s words farther than intended if you weren’t careful. „He _is_ part of the committee -“

„Oh, joy!“ Burke muttered. Zana ignored him.

“...as the head of the military and police forces, he’s there because your appearance is a question of national security.“

„Who are the others?“ Al’s voice was calm, but Burke could hear the tension underneath. National security? Yeah, he wasn’t eager to be judged by Urko in that regard. The guy was a wee bit biased when it came to humans.

Zana shook her head - so they hadn’t told her, either. It was a bad sign if your handler was being deliberately left in the dark, too. „Zaius, most probably, because he is the minister of science... the president of the academy will perhaps be present, too... I have no idea who else. Your existence hasn’t been made widely known, not even among the council members, you know?“

A secret tribunal. The day could only get better.

The chamber they were led to was surprisingly small - another sign that whatever would be decided here would stay out of sight for most apes. No publicity, no pressure... no way to force an appeal. Burke felt his heartbeat pick up and took a deep breath to calm himself down. Nothing had happened yet, their judges hadn’t even arrived. Whatever would be going down in here, they’d deal with it somehow. Hell, they had survived until now, right?

Zana spun around to him when the door opened. „Be smart... be silent! Let me do the talking.“ She quickly arranged them into a more... submissive?... position, lining them up side by side and shoving them closer to the wall, while several apes filed into the chamber through a second door.

Burke recognized Urko immediately - as the only gorilla in the room, the soldier stood out even without his swagger and his uniform. His cold gaze lingered a second too long on him and Al. Burke relaxed his features, making his expression unreadable. He wouldn’t let that monkey know how much the sight of it got to him.

The other two were a fat chimp wearing more bling than a crack dealer, and an elderly orangutan whose shrewd eyes set off a deeper alarm in Burke than even Urko had managed. He wondered briefly if this was Zana’s boss at the academy, but when the ape took the central seat on the dais across the room, he corrected that assumption.

_That one must be Zaius. Man, we're in a world of trouble._

Zana sunk down into her seat after the senior apes had settled down, but he and Al had to keep standing at the wall; well, at least they weren’t trussed up like Burke had been at his first (and only) walk outside the institute.

„Why aren’t the humans properly restrained?“ Fat Chimp leaned back in his seat to give his bulge more room, and frowned at Zana. „We have regulations here, doctor! I don’t care what you do with them in their cage back in the institute - that should be professor Zorvan’s business...“

Another orangutan rose from his seat at the wall; Burke hadn’t even noticed him until now - his attention had been focused on the heavyweights before him. „I assure you, the humans have been treated strictly according to regulations...“

„Except for that day when the good doctor decided to let one of them roam the streets without even so much as a leash on,“ Urko’s gravelly voice casually cut him off.

 _Shit. How did_ he _get wind of that?_

If apes could blanch, Burke was sure that Zana would have been white as a sheet now. Her hands were trembling as she fiddled with her notes. She didn’t even look at Urko.

The sharp crack of a gavel cut off any further remarks from Urko or Bling-Bling. „This ad hoc committee of the general council is now in session.“ The orangutan’s voice was dry and slightly bored. „Council Eldest and minister of science presiding. On my right, General Urko, head of police; on my left, Senator Toba, head of the chamber of commerce and representative of the Union of Farmers and Yeomen.“

„Union of what?“ Burke whispered into Zana’s ear.

„Plantation owners,“ she whispered back without turning her head. „Now shush!“

_How can he represent the yeomen and the plantation owners at the same time... and holy shit, plantation owners? Where the hell are we, antebellum South?_

_We should’ve legged it ages ago, Al, but would you listen to me? ‘course not!_

„Appearing as current custodian, Professor Zorvan, president of the Academy,“ the Council Eldest was concluding his introduction. „Let it be clear at the outset that all matters pertaining to this inquiry are confidential, and anyone discussing them outside this chamber will be held in contempt of the Council.“ He put down the gavel and studied the scroll before him for a moment. „Our purpose is to settle custodial and jurisdictional questions concerning these humans, and determine what's to be done with them. Dr. Dhyendhye has been questioning them and will present us her results. If you please, doctor.“

„You go, girl,“ Burke whispered encouragingly as she stood and smoothed down her skirt. „You show them!“ He secretly wiped his sweaty palms on his pants.

Zana bowed to her superiors, something Burke had never seen her doing before. „Council Eldest Zaius, Senator, General - it is a great honor for me to be allowed to speak before you today. It is also my hope that my findings will not only be helpful for your decision, but interesting and illuminating in their own right.“ Her voice became steadier while she was speaking, although her hands were still crumpling her notes. She took a deep breath and continued.

„The humans have proven to be docile, responsive, and cooperative. They immediately understood the gravity of their situation and were anxious to stay on our good side.“

„Ha! They better were!“ Urko growled. Burke saw Zana clench her teeth for a moment, but her voice was steady.

„After intensive interviews - that were taken separately,“ she stressed with a glance towards Urko, „and equally rigorous observation, I have come to the conclusion that these humans haven’t sought out our world on purpose, but are here as a result of a technical malfunction of their machine. They repeatedly expressed the wish to return to their homeworld and vowed to leave our territory immediately, if they were to be released from our custody.“

There was a moment of silence, as the apes contemplated her words.

Then Urko began to laugh.

Zana stood perfectly still, while Urko roared with laughter, going on and on long after the point where a natural laugh would have died away, while he kept laughing to demonstrate the depth of his contempt for her person, her qualification, her profession and most importantly, her fondness for the human vermin. Burke felt Alan’s hand around his upper arm, although he hadn’t moved a muscle, either; he just had tensed up so much that he was shaking.

_I’d love to smash that grin right out of your face, monkey._

When Urko was finally finished with his laughing bout, Zana continued as if she hadn’t been interrupted: „My advice is thus to release the humans from custody and escort them to the borderlands to the West; or alternatively, leave them to the Institute for Behavioral Studies indefinitely for research purposes.“

Burke didn’t believe for a second that they’d be released, but the prospect of spending the rest of their lives in that cage wasn’t very appealing, either. Still, it did offer some opportunities for escape...

„What a load of _crock! “_ Urko stood and began to pace the room. He pointed a finger at Zana, but spoke directly to Zaius. „I don’t even know where to begin with that mess! A technical malfunction? As if she was even qualified to verify that! Has she been there? Has she seen their machine? Does she have the _technical expertise_ to come to a conclusion about that claim? Ha!“ He threw his hands up in the air and turned around to stalk back the five steps or so until he was directly in her face.

„And as for the rest - _of course_ they’d claim that they are here by accident! _I_ wouldn’t tell you if my troops were following me, if I were caught on a scouting mission behind enemy lines! _Nobody_ would! But only a dumb little girl would _believe_ that shit!“

Zana’s fingers were drumming on the underside of the folder she was holding as she scowled at Urko. The problem was that Urko’s line of reasoning was - well, reasonable. Much as Burke hated to admit it, he’d probably have argued the same if their positions had been reversed.

„There are ways to determine if somebody tells the truth,“ Zana finally said, fixing Urko with her glare. „It’s easy to lie with your words, but almost impossible to lie with your whole body. Bodily reactions are beyond conscious control; a flaring of nostrils, dilating pupils, little tics and gestures can tell you a complete story of their own. Of course,“ she added dryly with a meaningful glance to Zaius, „you need the professional _expertise_ to know what to look for. Most of these signs are subtle and fleeting, and easily missed by a _layperson."_

„Bullshit,“ Urko growled. „What, do you think you’re the first to claim that she can ‘read the human,’ or has that ‘special bond’ that ‘transcends the barriers between species’?“ He shook his head, chuckling. Zana raised her brows.

„I wouldn’t have thought you’d browse the book sections on human husbandry, General,“ she remarked.

„Just for professional purposes,“ he bared his teeth at her. It wasn’t a smile. „I need to know about the latest stupid ‘love your human’ fads to know where the next trouble will brew. They always get out of hand.“ It wasn’t clear if he meant the fads or the humans. The latter, Burke assumed.

Zana leaned forward and directed her next words exclusively at Zaius. „You wouldn’t have given me this assignment if you hadn’t been convinced of my qualification, Council Eldest. I agree that my expertise doesn’t lie with technical examinations of alien machines - but that wasn’t what I was supposed to do anyway, right? You hired me because I’m the expert for human behaviour, and from my professional experience with _that_ , I assure you that the humans weren’t lying. There _is_ no alien fleet on its way to us.“

Another expectant silence followed her words, but when nobody spoke up this time, Zaius nodded at her and waved her to return to her seat. With another bow, she returned to him and Al and slumped down as if her legs were giving out under her.

„As much as I enjoy your company, doc, I hadn’t planned on retiring in your little zoo!“ Burke whispered to her. „Permanent guardianship sounds awfully permanent to me!“

„Well, it’s still preferable to vivisection, don’t you think?“ Zana whispered back. „We need to let this whole subject drop from people’s awareness for a while before we can even think of other options.“

„What other options?“ Burke asked warily. He was sure he’d imagined her saying ‘vivisection.’

„Releasing you into the wild, for example. That’d need a lot of paperwork to bury your cases in.“

Zana wore a distracted expression, probably listening to the various suggestions and objections that were being thrown about now. They ranged from ‘they are dangerous, kill them’ to ‘they are an incalculable risk, kill them’ and even to ‘they’re _humans_ , there is no way they could have build such a machine themselves. So the question is who really sent them? Are there other apes on other worlds, bent on conquering ours?’ She didn’t react to his next question, until Burke poked her in the ribs.

„So, how long are we talking about? Three months? Six?“

„Hm? No, no, it will be several years before...“

_„Years? Are you out of your mind?“_

„Shh!“

„I’d like to have a look at those humans myself before I make a decision,“ Senator Toba’s rumbling voice commanded their attention. „Zorvan here has made a valid point: they are humans, how in the world would they’ve been able to build such a thing in the first place?“

Zaius waved to her to put the humans on display, and Zana had no choice but to oblige him.

„Best behavior!“ she whispered urgently to Burke as she positioned them in front of the triumvirate.

Toba waddled up and rounded them as if he was ogling the display on farmer’s market, and Burke felt his body tense in anticipation. But it was Al who got the treatment first. When Toba let his hand glide over Alan’s shoulders and back to assess his frame and muscles, Burke saw him go rigid in response from the corner of his eye. His face stayed absolutely blank, but he thought he saw him blanch a little.

„Hm.“ Toba shrugged. „Seems to be an ordinary human, except for the color - he’d make me a fortune...“ He ambled over to Burke, who glared at Zana. _You could’ve given us a little heads up here, girl - I didn’t expect to be sold at the market today!_ Zana’s eyes widened in silent admonition, and Burke locked his jaw and stared straight ahead when Toba repeated his probing and testing.

„I’d like to see that one run,“ he finally announced, and Burke felt his face go hot at that offhand remark. That monkey was talking about him as if he was a racing horse. Sure enough, „I bet I could make a nice sum on the tracks with it.“ He sniffed and patted him on the cheek before he could avoid the touch. „I don’t see anything out of the ordinary here. Can they talk?“ he asked in Zana’s direction.

„They speak our language, senator,“ she confirmed. Her face added a silent, _idiot._ How did that monkey think they had spent the last weeks with her? Grooming each other? Stapling boxes to reach the banana at the ceiling?

Toba turned back to him. „So, did you build that machine that can fly?“

Trick question. But he had been advised to only talk when asked a direct question, and he assumed that it meant he was only allowed a direct answer, too. „No.“

„Peet!“ Zana hissed.

„No. Sir.“

Toba turned and spread his arms in triumph. „See? Of course they didn’t!“

„It was built by _human_ engineers, after designs developed by _human_ scientists,“ Burke’s voice cut through the murmurs and chuckles. In her seat, Zana facepalmed.

_Sorry, Zana. Idiots just push all my buttons._

But Toba wasn’t ruffled. „Of course! Next thing you’ll tell me, it was _human generals_ who ordered it built!“

„The army has nothing to do with...“

„Shut up, Pete,“ Alan murmured through his teeth.

Toba turned his back to him. „With all due respect to our esteemed general, but I don’t see anything here that justifies his worry, as long as they are kept separated from the general public.“ His gaze travelled appraisingly over Virdon. „I’m willing to take care of the necessary arrangements, for appropriate compensation, of course.“

„The council will hardly agree to allocate tax money for your private zoo,“ Urko scoffed.

„Oh, they’d earn that money themselves,“ Toba said lightly, but Burke’s fleeting vision of picking cotton in Toba’s fields vanished with a flash of nausea, when the Chimp added, „people will pay a fortune for those light-colored cubs.“

This time, it was Burke who grabbed Virdon’s arm.

Zana sent an imploring look to Zaius, silently begging for help, and practically jumped from her bench when he gave her an indulgent nod.

„What did I just tell you about not speaking until asked?“ she hissed as she shoved him against the wall.

„That asshole just ticked me off!“

„Well, you just...“

„Senators. Thank you for lending me your ear.“

Zana’s fur bristled visibly, and she let go of him with a last push before she turned around to face their nemesis. Of course Urko wouldn’t let that opportunity slip.

_Damn my big mouth..._

„That was very entertaining, Toba.“ Urko smiled a wolfish smile, and Toba chuckled. „Very entertaining. Unfortunately the Council Eldest broke it off before the dark one could rip your throat out.“

Toba gave a derisive snort, but his gaze flitted towards their bench, where Zana vigorously shook her head at him. Burke snorted - he hadn’t even been close to doing that, but from their earlier encounters with the gorilla, Burke wasn’t at all surprised that Urko reveled in inciting fear and hatred of humans in his fellow apes. Judging by Toba’s reaction, he had scored again.

„But I must concede this point to you, Toba: humans are humans, no matter which world they infest, and therefore it’s wrong to say that they are an _unknown_ danger; everyone knows exactly what dangerous, destructive beasts they are,“ Urko was slowly walking up to their bench, „intelligent but,“ he patted Burke’s head, „without self-control, driven by aggression and always, _always_ striving for dominance.“

_I’m very much controlling myself right now, asshole._

Urko turned away to address the assembly again, „Not to mention their out of control reproduction and their habit to litter their surroundings wherever they are.“ That earned him a mixed response of laughter and cries of disgust.

„They are a health and safety hazard, and only _simian sentimentality_ has allowed them a place within ape society, “ Urko roared. „That sentimentality has to be tempered with brutal control, otherwise those _noble apes_ would have been overrun by their pets in the meantime!“

He gestured towards them. „And now these humans have come here with the help of an advanced machine. Does that make them any different from the humans we know? No.“

Urko now seemed to address Zaius directly. „We never denied that humans are intelligent. That's not the issue. But they are aggressively expansive. So how can we believe that they were _not_ on a scouting mission? And even if they discovered us by accident, that they would _not_ tell their fellow humans where to find us, if we allowed them to go home?“

He turned to the Zana again, who was chewing on her lower lip. Burke cast a quick glance around the room: The tide was turning, and it was turning against him and Al.

„I say: don’t release them! But I also say: don’t run the risk of letting them escape! Kill them now, before they can wreak havoc on our society, corrupt the minds of young apes,“ Urko fixed Zana with a meaningful look, designed to be noticed by everyone in the chamber, then turned to Toba, „or stir unrest among our own humans - we all remember the rebellion fifteen years ago: it only needs another spark for that conflagration to erupt again.“

Zana shot up from her seat. „Yes, we do remember that rebellion, General! Some of us also remember how it began, and _your_ role in fanning the flames, before you so gleefully stomped them out! Your pathological hatred of humans has blinded you to...“

 _„Silence!“_ Urko yelled.

A hush fell over the assembly as he rounded in on her. Burke stepped forward, ready to punch the gorilla in his ugly face, but Alan pulled him back again.

„You wouldn’t have a chance, Pete,“ he whispered, „and you’d get Zana into an even worse position - as if she wasn’t able to control her humans...“ His wry smile told Burke that Al didn’t like their status here any more than he did.

Perhaps he’d be more open to his plan of instant escape now, data disc be damned.

„How dare you interrupt a council member!“ Urko growled. His face was only inches away from Zana’s, who had locked her knees and raised her chin. Burke had to admire her courage - being shouted at by a four hundred pound gorilla had to be damn scary, even if you were an ape yourself. „Zaius should kick you out onto the steps to wait for the committee’s decision for your infamy!“

„Please don’t presume how I should lead this session, General,“ Zaius’ dry voice saved Zana from Urko’s close proximity. With a last look of contempt, he stomped back to his seat. Zaius glanced at Burke, probably wondering if he should call the guards. Burke consciously relaxed his hands and settled against the wall.

„Consider yourself to be officially cautioned, Zana. I don’t want to hear another peep from you.“

Zaius’ attention was already on Toba and Zorvan, who were muttering among themselves now. Toba directed dark glances at Urko - perhaps that human rebellion had impacted the profits from his plantation. Burke hoped the humans back then had torched the place. Zana slunk back into her seat, visibly glad to no longer be the center of attention. Burke patted her shoulder, and she gratefully squeezed his hand.

„Why do I have the feeling that I’ve stumbled into a movie after the break?“ Burke muttered under his breath.

Virdon didn’t take his eyes off the debating apes. „Because this isn’t really about us anymore.“

Burke laughed; it sounded hollow even to his own ears. „Except for the part where they kill us, you mean?“

Al didn’t answer. Instead, he pushed away from the wall.

„Do I have permission to speak, Council Eldest?“

Urko whirled around, pointing at him. _„Guards, subdue that beast at once!“_

Virdon startled as two Chimpanzees converged on him and Burke bolted to his defense, feeling awfully eager for a fight. Zana pulled at his arm, but he didn’t budge.

_„I will have order in this chamber!“_

The gavel thundered on the block again and again. For the first time since the meeting had begun, Zaius looked livid.

 _„Guards, stand down! Urko, I will not have you commandeering this chamber as if it was one of your garrisons! Everyone, sit!_ Remember the dignity of your position, gentle apes!“

After some long moments, Toba and Zorvan sat down again, although the silence thrummed with tension. Zaius leaned back in his seat and regarded Alan with half-lidded eyes.

„You need to give me a good reason for granting you that permission. We usually don’t let humans talk here any more than we would let a dog or a horse do.“

Virdon looked a bit taken aback at that comparison, but he bowed slightly in an imitation of what he had seen Zana do before. „I hope to offer another perspective on the... the incident, as you call it, and its potential benefits for you.“

Zaius raised his brows. „Benefits for us? Very well. You have me sufficiently intrigued to make an exemption from our usual proceedings.“ He pointed at the spot where Zana had given her presentation. „Step forth and make your plea.“

There were muttered objections from Zorvan, and a loud „Intolerable!“ from Urko, but Toba was leaning forward in his seat with anticipation. Burke had to give it to Al: if there was one surefire way to snare an ape, it was by exploiting their curiosity. Or, in the case of Toba, their greed.

_Hey, they aren't that different from every cutthroat car dealer I’ve ever met! I feel so close to them all of a sudden!_

„Sirs, I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to speak to you,“ Virdon began. „I have listened to everyone’s concerns and I can understand each and every one of them - even the general’s.“

That earned him surprised murmurs. Burke grinned inwardly. _Catch them with honey, Al._

„However, I ask you to consider that all these concerns are just that - worries about what _might_ be, and what _might_ happen. You are called to make a decision of life and death for me and my comrade and that is no trivial thing... even if it’s only a human life. I respectfully ask you that you base that decision on facts, not fears.“

Toba nodded and smiled encouragingly, and Zaius looked at least as if he was actually considering Al’s words, but Burke didn’t get his hopes up yet. When he looked to where Urko was sitting, his jaw clenched at the hatred in the ape’s glare.

Virdon didn’t seem to notice. „If we just stick to the facts, to what we can verify with our own senses, then only two things are certain: our starship will never fly again; and we are completely at your mercy. Both facts don’t yield a realistic probability that we will ever pose a danger to you, or to your society.“

He took a step towards the dais. „On the contrary, I offer you a bargain: if you release us...“

„Release you! A moment ago you were begging for your life, and now you also want to roam the streets!“ Urko barked. „That’s how it always is with your ilk: give them an inch and they'll take a mile!“

„You don’t want us here!“ Alan retorted. „Our mere presence is an insult to you. Well, we would be happy to oblige you... we would leave your territory and never return. What reason would we have to linger?“

„What was that bargain you wanted to offer?“ Toba asked.

Alan nodded to him. „We can offer skills and knowledge you may find useful, once we know what you lack or need; for example... I haven’t come across the word, so I don’t know if you already invented a _compass “ -_ he used the English word instead, and went on to explain the principle of the thing. Toba’s gaze sharpened on him while he described its uses, and Burke thought he could see the numbers rolling in the fat Chimp’s head. Even Zaius looked intrigued.

Urko rose from his seat.

„The human asked you not to base your decision on fears. Instead it asked you to base it on _promises!"_ He sauntered up to Virdon, who regarded him warily. „I, on the other hand, will stick to the facts, as it had so humbly asked me to do.“

Urko smiled, and Zana sat straighter in her seat. Burke tensed and took a step away from the wall.

„Let us _all_ stick to the things we can verify with our own senses. This is a human invention. Let’s see what it can do.“ He leaned forward and made a bowling motion with his arm. Frowning, Zana rose from her seat to see what Urko had set rolling on the floor.

_Where the hell did he find that-_

Burke rammed into her, pushing her to the floor and covering her with his body, trying to shield her from the wooden splinters and chunks of plaster that were raining down on them.

 _„You ass-headed son of a shit eating baboon! Fucking idiot!“_ Burke heard his voice as if from far away, but that didn’t stop him from cursing. One took his stress relief where one could get it.

Zana made a shoving motion under him and he crawled down from her and helped her to sit up. She looked stunned. ‘What happened?’ Her voice was louder than normal - her ears were ringing just as his had.

‘That stupid motherfucker threw a handgrenade!’ A stun grenade, actually, which was the reason they were able to have that conversation. Otherwise bits of them would be sprawled all over a fucking crater now.

‘Alan!’

Burke felt his heart drop as he saw the sudden panic in Zana’s eyes. Virdon had stood right beside the thing! Zana pulled herself up on the bench post and peered over to the orator’s spot; Burke stumbled to his feet behind her, half expecting to see blood and gore.

Instead he saw four guards converging on Al, their batons raining down on them.

_They’ll club him to death!_

Burke stumbled when Zana managed to snatch his arm at the last moment. He yanked it away with a growl. „Let go!“

„Look!“ She pointed at the dais.

Zaius was emerging behind his seat, as powdered with plaster as she was, but not half as dazed. He shooed the guards away like pesky insects, gazed down at Virdon for a moment, and turned to right his toppled chair. Burke saw Alan swallow heavily and roll over. His face and chest were smeared with blood. In a moment, he was at his side .

„That’s what you get for saving the old geezer’s life,“ Burke muttered and helped Virdon to sit up. „No good deed goes unpunished.“

Al’s face looked even worse from up close, one eye already swelling shut. He sat on the floor, propped up against the bench post, and leaned his head back to still the blood streaming from his nose, while Zana tried to wipe away the worst of it from his throat and chest with her handkerchief. Neither of them paid much attention to the clang of the gavel or Zaius’ commands to order.

Burke did look up once when Zaius dismissed Urko from the chamber, though. _If I'll never see that ugly mug again, I’ll be a happy man._

All eyes were on Zaius now. The old ape sat silent for a moment, staring down at his hands. When he looked up, his gaze fell on Zana, as if his next words were meant solely for her.

„That was quite an impressive demonstration of human ingenuity, don’t you think? But on the other hand,“ his gaze wandered to Virdon, „it was also a demonstration of human instinct that I have seen before. Urko may be right in more ways than he’d be happy to acknowledge.“ He sniffed and turned to the other two apes.

„As the general’s little... demonstration... has shown, we don’t know nearly enough about these humans, neither about their potential danger nor their usefulness for us. Therefore I’m convinced that it is absolutely necessary to study them further. They’ll be kept by the department for human studies, under the custody of Dr. Dhyendhye, until we can come to a final conclusion.“

„This hearing is adjourned. Take them away, Zana. We need to get this room presentable again.“


	5. Chapter 5

"You have a meeting scheduled with professor Zibaya after today’s council session, and there’s this request by prefect Hamon to get back to him about additional funding for that new clinic for his district as soon as possible.“ Galen unrolled the scroll a bit further. „It’s his fourth request, so I suggest we write him a polite refusal before he decides to set up camp in the lobby.“ He put the scroll on Zaius’ desk. „Oh, and I need you to sign this, sir.“

Zaius smoothed down the scroll that had rolled up as soon as Galen had let go, and scanned it. The old baboon never signed something unseen, which would be really inconvenient if one wanted to, say, smuggle an authorization for a personal request between his papers. Until now though, the need for that hadn’t come up, and besides, Galen had his own father to abuse for these things.

„Do you need me to sit in on today’s session, too, Eldest?“ he asked. „Not that the last session hadn’t been fascinating,“ he hastened to add, „but I have some paperwork to take care of...“

Truth be told, he wanted to use Zaius’ guaranteed absence to go looking for that human necklace Zana had asked him for. Since chances were slim that Zaius would sign him an official release for the thing, he had to be sneaky about it.

„No, I don’t need you to suffer through that session with me,“ Zaius muttered. „At least one of us should be doing something productive.“

Galen smiled in sympathy. The council was addressing - again - demands of the Equal Opportunity movement; this time, the opening of scientific study paths for Gorillas. Considering that Gorillas weren’t even expected to sit through a council session, resistance to the idea of having them occupy the lecture halls for whole semesters was high; it seemed ridiculous to many apes, Chimps and Orangutans alike.

„You know,“ Zaius said as he signed the scroll, „I wouldn’t have thought you’d be actually useful when you barged into my office to shanghai me into taking you on. I’m pleased to see I was wrong.“

Galen ducked his head. „I don’t think I was _tricking_ you, Zaius,“ he objected. „My resume was flawless.“

„And I _did_ owe your father a favour,“ Zaius added dryly.

„You may still owe him one - it’s not really payback when you’re in fact _gaining_ so much from my assistance,“ Galen teased. Zaius snorted.

„Bright _and_ amusing! But I do consider us even all the same.“ He leaned back and eyed Galen. „What did make you so desperate to become my assistant?“

„Well, it... seemed to be the most interesting position open at that time.“

It had been definitely more interesting than the prefecture at the outer edges of civilisation that his father had procured for him. It had been one or the other, as Atiba Yalu had flat out refused to pay another semester of his studies any more. There went Galen’s plans to retire from university once his fur turned grey, but all in all, this hadn’t been the worst pit to fall into. It certainly presented one with interesting opportunities. Like those humans in Zana’s care...

„You write that refusal for prefect Hamon, I’ll sign it when I come back.“ Zaius stood to put on his council robes.

„Zaius...“ Galen hesitated. „Is it true that another human machine fell from the sky at Toram?“

The Orangutan turned to him, surprised. „Fell from the sky? Humans? Where did you hear that story?“

„Well... on the streets, I think,“ Galen said vaguely. „I don’t really remember where. I was just wondering... if there are humans who are so much more advanced than us...“

„Silence!“ Zaius rounded in on him. „I could have you imprisoned for blasphemy, are you aware of that? Humans are not, cannot and _will never be_ more advanced than apes!“ He turned to go.

Galen stared after him. „Zaius! You haven’t answered my question!“

Zaius grabbed the door handle. „I never _heard_ the question.“ The door clicked shut behind him.

For a moment Galen just stood in the middle of Zaius' office, clutching his paperwork. Zaius’ reaction had been surprisingly severe. He had never seen the Eldest lose his composure like that before... Well, it had been a shocking proposal - humans being able to build and operate machines. Galen shook his head. It was ridiculous, when you really thought about it.

But that had been the gist of the secret reports on Zaius’ desk, so the old ape should’ve had enough time to get used to the thought by now. Galen suspected that the outrage hadn’t been directed at the suggestion itself, but the fact that someone else but Zaius’ inner circle could have gotten wind of it.

But he’d be damned if he didn’t manage to get into that inner circle himself! Zana’s eyes lit up with excitement every time the conversation touched upon the subject, although she took her oath to secrecy seriously. These humans of hers really did seem so interesting. If only he could talk to them himself... learn the things they knew...

As Zaius had said, it was blasphemy to even entertain the the thought that humans were anything but dumb animals. They were unique in that they could talk, but as Yalu had always said, it’s what came out of someone’s mouth that decided if the speaker belonged to the simian race. According to the old Atiba, that wasn’t even the case for most apes. Also according to him, human talk wasn’t really different from that of parrots.

Galen suddenly remembered the necklace - his ticket to get close to those _other_ humans, to talk to them himself and find out if they were truly different from his father’s house slaves. Well, now was the best opportunity, wasn’t it? He had a pretty good idea where to find it. Zaius wasn’t as disinterested in humans as he made everybody else believe. In fact, he had amassed a veritable collection of human artifacts in his private study - mostly from archeological sites, but Galen was sure that the latest spoils would have found their way into the backroom of Zaius’ office, too.

The door wasn’t locked - it was usually sufficient that the front door to the office was. Who else except Zaius would be here? Well, his personal assistant would be; Galen hesitated for a moment. If Zaius ever found the necklace missing, he’d know exactly who to blame.

On the other hand, there was a low probability that Zaius would look at the thing again; as far as Galen could tell, he hoarded these things, but he didn’t seem to be particularly fond of them.

As he slowly wandered along the shelves, he puzzled at what most of these things _were._ Some of them he did recognize - a doll (made in the image of a human instead of an ape, of course), a dagger, something like a pot, but with a curious machine around it... it looked as if it had a water tank attached, though he couldn’t for the world of him think of a use for that... a box with a spiked ball that looked like nothing he had ever seen, and couldn't imagine what it could be useful for... there was a hole in the foamy material that filled the box; apparently, there had been two of those things in there originally.

Huh. Oh, but there was the necklace! He hurried over to the other shelf and held it up for inspection. The faces of a human young and a female were etched into the metal. Very fine work; very true to life. There was a third pendant lying beside it: a round disk, its diameter about half as long as his thumb, and almost as thick, but it didn’t seem to be part of the human’s jewelry.

His mission accomplished, Galen, now firmly determined to leave immediately, wandered deeper into the shadows of the study. The far wall seemed to hold something more enticing than curious, dust-crusted artifacts: books.

Galen had never been able to resist the siren call of a book spine - you just had to read the title, at least. And you had to wonder just what kind of books Zaius would so carefully keep hidden.

Some of the titles were in a script unknown to him - that alone was exciting enough. Some of them were really thick tomes; when he took one out to thumb through it, he was surprised to find it filled with pictures of _human_ anatomy. Galen didn’t know of anyone who’d be interested enough in human anatomy to write a book about it, let alone commission pictures for it. Unfortunately, it was written in the same unknown script, and he put it back with a pang of regret. If anything, his curiosity had been even more excited now.

His eyes fell on an only moderately thick book; its leather binding was brittle and so dark that he almost couldn’t decipher the title. He took it out and opened it to the first page.

HISTORY OF THE HUMAN-SIMIAN WAR

There had never _been_ a war between humans and apes.

There never... well, he was sure he’d have _heard_ about such a thing, wouldn’t he? Nobody had ever mentioned a war! It was ridiculous! By the same measure, you could write a book about the war between the apes and the emus (well, they _were_ a plague, but still - you don’t wage war against _animals)._ Galen frowned and turned a few pages. His eyes flitted across the text.

He turned the pages more rapidly as his fur began to bristle. Finally, he closed the book with a snap. His nose twitched. He put the book back, smoothed the spines so that none stood out, and took the book out again. Turned towards the door, turned back to the cabinet. For a moment he stood frozen, hovering between the fervent wish to unsee what he had just read and the urge to read the rest of it.

Here was a book whose content flew in the face of everything apes were taught to believe, and it had been kept hidden from view in the secret study of the ape council’s leader. If his former question about the humans had bordered on blasphemy in Zaius’ eyes, how would the Defender of the Faith qualify the contents of that book?

Possession of such a book could take one to the block. Well, if you were anyone else but Zaius.

Galen didn’t _want_ to read it.

He _had_ to.

He carefully rearranged the books so that no gap was visible anymore, and slid the door shut. Hiding the book under his robe, he silently retreated from the room.

* * *

When Galen turned up at the institute later that afternoon, Zana was surprised and delighted to see him, and even moreso when he told her that he had a bit of free time as long as Zaius was in session. He thought he was succeeding in hiding his shock from her over what he had just done in Zaius’ private study, too.

„I found your human’s necklace.“

„Oh Galen, you’re a darling! Alan will be so happy!“

„And I will be so happy to finally meet him!“

She smiled at his not-too subtle prodding. „They are in the open air enclosure. Come on!“

The humans seemed listless to him today, not as tense and energetic as they had been during the hearing. Well, the fair-haired human had been brutally beaten by the security and sported dark bruises on his face - and probably not just there, judging by his stiff movements, but if there were more, they were hidden under his clothing.

The dark haired one was unenthusiastically throwing a ball against a... Galen cocked his head... a ring with a net hanging from it, which was mounted on the wall. Apparently the objective was to throw the ball through the ring, but the human didn’t seem to care much about his score.

Zana clapped her hands to get their attention. „Alan, Peet, this is Galen, a... a good friend of mine. He has expressed interest to meet you, and I agreed - I think it’s high time you meet other apes. Oh, and he has something for you, Alan.“

The humans ambled over to them with long, lazy steps, reminding him a bit of a pair of big cats. Galen smiled nervously and fished for the necklace in his bag. His fingers touched the brittle leather of the forbidden book and he jerked them back as if he’d burned them.

The eyes of the fair one - Alan? - lit up when he saw the pendants dangling from his fingers. He took them out of Galen’s hand without touching it. His face was tense when he stared at the pictures for a moment; he swallowed and quickly put the necklace over his head, hiding it under his shirt. Then he cleared his throat and gave Galen a wry smile.

„Thank you very much, sir.“ He had a deep, pleasant voice. „This means a lot to me.“

„Oh it’s just Galen. No need to ‘sir’ me.“

„Very well.“ The smile didn’t waver. Galen had the impression that the human was so very polite to keep them all at a safe distance. „Pleased to meet you, Galen.“

„Oh, the pleasure is all mine. I wanted to meet you for a long time, and even moreso after I saw you at the hearing...“

„You were there?“ Zana asked, surprised. „I never saw you!“

He smiled at her. „You were very preoccupied with your speech, but I did wave at you from the last bench, where they place us poor assistants.“ He glanced at the dark haired human who hung back with a bored face, balancing the ball on one finger. He let the toy rotate on it, a strangely hypnotic sight. Galen blinked and tore his gaze away.

„I’m very sorry.“ He gestured towards Alan’s bruised face. „Our security clearly overreacted.“

The human slightly bowed his head in acknowledgment. „It’s nothing you could have prevented, but thank you all the same.“ His fingers wandered back to where the pendants were under his shirt. „Really, thank you - this may be the only way I’ll ever be able to look at my family again. Won’t they miss it?“ He sounded worried; he was probably afraid it’d be taken from him again.

„No, don’t worry,“ Galen assured him. „It was gathering dust in Zaius’ office, I doubt he’ll ever realize it’s missing. He has quite a collection of human things,“ he added towards Zana, almost forgetting the humans as soon as he spoke with another ape. „And here he wants to make us believe he finds them too unimportant to bother with.“

He turned back towards Alan. „Well, not you, apparently - judging by the meeting this morning.“ He shook his head. „But then you are nothing like our humans, no matter what Urko thinks.“ They all sat down in the shade of the wall, except for the dark haired one whose name he had forgotten, who returned to his ball game. Galen leaned towards Alan.

„Is it really true that on your world, humans build all these machines? And fly them?“ It was strange to think that somewhere else, humans were living and working just like apes were here - and just like, if that book was true, humans had been living here, too, a long time ago... In a way, it was almost easier to imagine that the human sitting across from him, with his polite smile and his quiet self-possession, had somehow traveled from that mystical past into his world, than to imagine he had come from a different world circling around a different sun.

The human nodded. „It’s true. We have teachers, scientists, engineers, just like you.“ He smiled. „We even have politicians and bureaucrats. Apparently every civilization is saddled with them.“ His eyes sparkled with mischief. „No offense intended.“

Galen blinked, then chuckled. „But you need us! Don’t let them ever tell you differently... and, and, on your world, are there apes, too?“

The human’s eyes became guarded. „Yes, we also have apes. But they are... different from you. Very different.“

„Oh. How... different?“

„They don’t talk.“ Galen looked up, startled, to find the dark haired human standing behind him. He hadn’t noticed him coming up this close, he had been too engrossed by Alan’s words. Now this human was looking down on him from his considerable height, with a not too friendly expression. „And they also don’t shoot at us. Or put us in a cage.“

„Pete. Sit down. Galen’s getting a crick in his neck from gazing up to you.“ Alan’s voice was pleasant, but the dark... Peet... obeyed immediately. Galen smiled at him, but the smile wasn’t returned. Peet’s eyes were hooded, vigilant. Galen suspected that the human didn’t like him very much.

„What do you mean, they don’t talk?“ he asked shyly.

„They’re more like animals,“ Peet said casually. He didn’t bother looking at him, pretending to be fascinated by the ball between his feet. He shrugged. „They _are_ animals, but not like you call us that - they really don’t have the brains to be our equals.“ He tipped a finger against his temple.

_In the ages before we awoke, ape was dumb and mute. We were but animals, while humans ruled the world._

Galen felt the fur rise on his neck. This was, this was all too much like in the book! The damn book... he should take it back to Zaius’ study and forget all about it. And forget about those strange creatures before him, too!

Zaius! The session could well be over already! Galen scrambled to his feet. „It was a very, _very_ interesting meeting, and I’d love to repeat this some time, but I really need to get going. Zaius may already be back from the council meeting and is probably wondering where I am and why the refusal of prefect Hamon’s request isn’t lying on his desk.“ He was babbling, he couldn’t help it.

Zana and the humans rose with him. Alan offered his hand and Galen eyed it, confused.

„It’s their way of greeting, dea... Galen,“ Zana explained, and demonstrated. Galen followed her example and was surprised when the human didn’t let go immediately.

„Before you go,“ he said, a hint of urgency creeping in his voice, „I’d like to ask you... you’re Zaius’ assistant, perhaps you heard something of that other ship that crashed on your world ten years ago?“

Galen’s and Zana’s eyes widened. „ _Another_ ship?“ - „With humans in it?“ - „From your world?“

Alan shook his head. „Another ship with humans, yes, but apparently not from our world - as far as we know, ours was the first to be able to... cross those distances. But the people of the tribe told me...“

„Wait a second!“ Zana interrupted. „You mean that ship fell down in the same place as yours?“

„Not exactly the same place, but close by, yes.“

Zana turned to Galen, excited or annoyed, he couldn’t say. Perhaps both. „Ten years ago! They put the whole region under quarantine ten years ago! For ten years we haven’t been able to study the tribes of the Toram reservation because of a supposed deadly virus!“ She huffed, arms akimbo.

So, more annoyed than excited.

„Looks like a cover-up to me,“ Peet remarked casually. He bounced the ball from one hand to the other. „What else don’t your leaders want you to know about us, I wonder.“

The book in Galen’s pouch seemed to take on additional weight with every passing moment. „I never heard of another ship, or other off-world humans, for that matter,“ he lied. „But I'll see if I can find out something about it. Now I really have to go.“ He turned to Zana.

„Seven o’clock, remember?“

„I’ll be ready,“ she murmured, a bit mortified. The humans raised their brows and Peet let out a whistle. „Somethin’ you’re not telling us, doc?“ He grinned.

Alan’s smile was warm, not mischievous. „I wish you both a nice evening.“

Galen bowed. He already liked this human too much. „Thank you. I hope my father will not interfere with that.“

„So... you have a boyfriend?“ he heard Peet’s voice as he hurried across the lawn. „Tell me more.“

* * *

„Are you sure we shouldn’t give this a little more time?“

He couldn’t see what exactly Burke was doing in the darkness, but Virdon guessed from his absent-minded tone that he was already jiggling the thorns into the lock of their cell.

„I mean I’m glad that you finally want to get out of here, too,“ Burke continued, „but I asked Zana if we couldn’t use the perimeter of the compound as a racetrack, and she seemed pretty taken by that idea. Y’know, sitting on our asses all that time sure isn’t good for a life on the run. Bit of training wouldn’t have hurt...“

He was probably right, Virdon admitted silently, but seeing Sally’s face again, even if only in the stylized engraving of his pendant, had turned that dull ache in his chest into a sudden, unexpected flare of pain. He had decided then and there that they wouldn’t wait any longer. It was a bit of irony that Burke, of all people, was now suggesting to wait - he had been ready to break out weeks ago.

„Now that Zana’s suitor has told us where the data disc is, there’s no reason to linger anymore. We’ll get all the training we need on the road. We’re not _completely_ out of shape. And it’s a moot point now, anyway.“ They had spent the last hour of daylight using Pete’s thorns to ease single threads out their blankets and tear them apart along that weakness in the fabric to produce a rope to climb the outer wall. Even if they broke off their mission now, the pile of shredded blankets would be impossible to explain away.

„Let’s just hope that the thing really is in that guy Zaius’ office,“ Burke murmured. „Here we go.“ The door swung open without a sound.

He let the younger man lead the way; although they both knew the layout of their prison well enough by now, Pete was more familiar with the night guard’s routine, and his repeated „calls of nature“ had given him the opportunity to find a spot where the vicious scrubs retreated from the outer wall far enough for them to climb it.

It was still a tight squeeze and they had to wrap the blanket strips around their arms to push the branches away before they reached the little clearing and could begin to tie the pieces together. At least the shrub protected them from accidental discovery. It would be different once they were sitting on top of that wall. Virdon wished the sky to be overcast at least once. Or perhaps they shouldn’t time their excursions to always fall around the full moon, for a change.

Moot point.

He gave Burke a leg-up - in fact, he had to push him up so that he could reach the edge of the wall’s top - and felt all his bruises checking in from the sudden strain. He let his head drop back against the wall for a moment. Perhaps Pete had been right, and he should have waited for them to fade, at least.

Moot point.

The end of the rope fell down beside him and he pushed away from the wall with a sigh. Climbing the wall with the help of a rope was something he felt up to, so... he’d be fine. He’d outrun any ape, if need be. They were walking on two legs like humans, but hadn't really adapted to it, from what he had seen. Their feet weren't shaped like human feet; their big toes were probably still opposable...

„They planted the damn things around the outer side, too,“ Burke whispered when he rolled his body onto the top.

That meant they couldn’t just jump off. It meant one of them had to slide down the rope and then try to make a space wide enough for the other to let himself fall to the ground as closely as possible to the wall. He really didn’t want for either of them to fall into three-inches-long thorns.

„You go first,“ he whispered, „I’ll hold the rope.“

He scanned the dark grounds while Burke let himself down. In one of the buildings, a light was flickering from window to window. He wondered if the guard would be able to make out his silhouette atop the wall against the moonlit sky, if he happened to look out the window. But the light moved on. Small graces...

He felt a tug at the rope, and let it fall down to Burke, then rolled off the top, hanging on his fingers for a moment before letting go. He couldn’t avoid bouncing off the wall, but Burke broke his momentum before he could tumble into the thorny hedge behind him.

„Piece of cake, eh?“ Burke breathed. He pointed at Virdon’s head. „You should do something about that. You don’t want to stick out with your exotic beauty, at least not tonight.“

His hair. Who would’ve thought that it would become his distinguishing feature? Burke had told him that most of the humans he had seen on his one excursion into town looked Hispanic; with his dark hair, Burke didn’t raise any eyebrows, but from Toba’s reaction to him, Virdon suspected that the color of his hair would be mentioned on every wanted poster from here to the borderlands that Zana had mentioned in the hearing. For a moment, he drew an absolute blank; then he untied one of the blankets and wound it around his head to make what he hoped would look like a hood. Burke’s chortle destroyed that hope immediately.

„You look like a sultan - or a pirate. No, leave it. We’ll just say our master likes it that way. Blame it on the apes.“ Still chuckling, he grabbed the rest of the blankets and rolled them up into an inconspicuous bundle.

He could see what Burke had meant when he had said that the city wasn’t designed like a human settlement; unlike humans, who modeled their houses after the faint memory of the caves their ancestors had lived in, ape houses echoed the trees they once had called their home. The ground floors were forbidding fortresses, with only small slits as windows, but the upper levels widened into galeries and balconies that reminded him of tree crowns in a sprawling forest. They seemed to intertwine, or perhaps it was only the darkness that prevented him from seeing where one ended and the next began.

„Stop gawking, Al,“ Burke muttered. „Remember, we’ve been living here for all our lives, and we know nothing but this city and the undying love for our masters.“ He was walking down the street as if he actually knew where he was going; only now and then a faltering step betrayed that he was working hard to find the route again that he had memorized in bright daylight.

„Do you think we should keep to the back alleys, or try to blend in with the crowd on the main streets?“ Virdon murmured back. „I don’t see many humans walking around; do they have a curfew for them... us?“

„Dunno.“ Burke didn’t look at him; he was scanning the passersby, too. „Whatever the rules, our master can override them if he wants to, at least that’ll be my story. We can’t decide anything, remember? We have to do as we’re told.“ His voice was flat.

„As for your other question.“ He shrugged. „I’m not sure I could tell a back alley from a main street, to be honest. I suggest we simply take the shortest route.“ He moved on.

„You two! Yes, I mean you! What are you doing out on the streets at this time?“

Burke exchanged a dark look with Virdon before he turned to the elderly chimp that barred their way with his cane. „We’re on an errand for our master, sir.“ His voice was still too flat for Virdon’s ears. Burke didn’t do subservience well.

„Then your master has a special permit to send you out after dark? And I’m sure he has given you all the necessary paperwork, too,“ the chimp said in a stern voice. He tapped Burke’s chest with his cane. „I want to see your papers.“

Burke’s body was tensing, too subtly for the ape to notice, but Virdon felt it necessary to step in before all hell broke loose. „We will make sure to relay your request that _Senator_ Toba should justify how and when he uses his servants back to our master, sir.“ He smiled an insincere smile when the chimp took a step back.

„Of course I didn’t mean... I’m just a concerned citizen... and some people are irresponsible... not the senator, of course...“

„Of course, sir. Have a nice evening!“ He pushed Burke past the distraught senior and made sure to put three or four corners between him and them before he let go of Burke’s arm.

„Papers!“ He let out a breath. „That could become a real problem out there.“

„We’ll cross that bridge when we reach it. Or burn it, would be my vote.“ Burke grabbed a flower pot from a windowbox and dumped it into his arms. „They’ll probably leave us alone if you look like you have a job, too, flower boy.“

„Really. And what do you have to deliver?“

Burke held up his bundle of blankets from their cell. „One package of human jail break, no shipping costs.“ He turned away. „Try to look self-important. As Toba’s slaves, we’re better than the rest of them. We’re almost there anyway.“

Virdon didn’t readily recognize the building where their hearing had been held - a moment later, he realized they had arrived at its backdoor. Of course, it was locked at this time. Burke tried to pick the lock, but gave up with a curse when one of his thorns broke.

„The lock is open, but the door’s bolted from the inside. We need to try something different.“ He peered up to the roof. „I think there’s an open window on the second floor.“ He pointed.

„You want to climb the facade?“ Virdon asked incredulously. Burke shrugged.

„I’ve climbed worse rocks.“ He noticed Virdon’s look. „I freeclimb as a hobby. Well, I did, back home.“ He began to test the wall for nooks and ledges.

„I used to dig for fossils with Chris,“ Virdon murmured, his eyes following Burke’s ascent. „Seems I chose the wrong set of hobbies for this world.“

After what seemed to him a long stretch of time, he heard the bolt sliding back, and the door opened. With a last glance up and down the street, he slipped inside. They both paused for a moment to let his eyes adjust to the deeper darkness. The huge lobby was silent and shadowy, the moonlight barred by massive walls with only a few ventilation slits. The cool marble tiles were icy under his naked feet.

„You know what?“ Burke whispered. „I have no idea where that guy’s office is in this building.“ Virdon heard him hiss with wry amusement. „And neither of us can read the name plates on their doors. Unless you secretly studied that paw print they have for a script in your free time.“

„We’ll just have to search every office,“ Virdon whispered back.

Burke groaned. „Do you know how many offices there are? Me neither. This could take all night and by tomorrow morning, they’ll swarm all over the place to find us! _If_ they don’t have security in this building, in which case we’re fucked even before that point - I’m not going to try and fight an ape.“

Virdon shook his head. Fighting any ape was suicidal, if you didn’t have a gun. Their muscle to fat ratio was different, giving them superhuman strength. Since neither of them had a gun, their only strategy in case of a hostile encounter was to run - that was the one advantage humans had over apes here. „If apes are anything like humans, the most powerful ones will set up camp at the physical top level, too. So we’ll start there. We won’t need all night, believe me.“

„Let’s hope you’re right.“

Perhaps it was just hope skewing his perception, but Virdon thought that Pete was getting faster with each lock. By the time they were out of the city, he’d be a full-fledged burglar. Considering that they couldn’t interact with the population - at least not until they were a considerable distance away from the city - that might well become a necessary survival strategy. Without papers (and money - did people use money here?), they couldn’t openly buy or barter for the things they needed, so they’d have to steal, or live off the land...

_„You! Freeze!“_

Burke jumped and bolted down the corridor; Virdon raced after him a second later. The beauty of simple strategies... in case of ape, run.

No light to warn them - the guard had shuttered his lantern. He had been silent, too; must’ve heard them before? They were jumping down the stairs in huge, desperate leaps, their naked feet making almost no sound.

No sound of boots behind them. Virdon dared to glance over his shoulder. No light, either. Had they lost him? For a moment, a vision of their pursuer swinging silently after them _on the ceiling_ made him gasp in terror. That’s what apes did, didn’t they?

He ran faster.

They hadn’t found the disc. No data, what was the point of escape? Not being killed? As if surviving here was anything like _living..._

Through the back door and out into the streets, people startling, staring, too surprised to react.

A shrill sound behind him, the guard blowing his whistle, calling for reinforcements. Virdon doubled his efforts, his lungs burning. Burke swerved to the left, into a narrow alley, and he followed suit, his shoulders brushing the walls to either side. He could hear shouts and more whistles behind him.

They broke into a clearing - one of the many green patches of the city, not formal parks, more as if nobody had yet bothered to build a house here. Twigs were whipping his face, his toes gripping a root here, jerking away from a sharp stone there, he couldn’t trip now...

ground rising up to his face all of a sudden and _he couldn’t breathe_

Something had dropped on him like a boulder, smashing him to the ground, both of them rolling through the bushes with the force of the impact, pinning him down with irresistible force now-

He tasted blood. He’d bitten his tongue. There was an ape sitting on his back, forcing his hands together. He could feel handcuffs snapping shut around his wrists.

That ape had dropped on him from a tree. They had been coming after them _through the trees._ For a moment, everything around him seemed unreal, nightmarish. He felt strange, not really in his body.

Then the watchman yanked him to his feet and the world became real again. The ape quickly patted him down. „Where your papers, hm?“ He sounded almost bored, as if hunting humans through the trees was an everyday occurrence for him. Well, perhaps it was. Virdon fought against a hysterical laughter bubbling up in him.

„No papers on this one, sir.“ More guards joined his captor, Burke in tow.

„This one here doesn’t have any, either.“

The ape sighed, clearly disgusted with him, Burke, and his job. „Alright, take them to the watch for identification. Better tell the nice people there who your owner is right away,“ he said to Virdon. „That’ll make it easier for all of us, including you two. Especially you two.“ He waved his men away and Virdon found himself at Burke’s side again.

„If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again, right?“ Burke murmured in English. That got him a slap upside the head.

„Shut up,“ his guard growled.

Virdon doubted that they would get another opportunity to try. Most likely, they’d be put in a high security prison, perhaps even in solitary confinement, with a guard outside at all times. And they’d probably get a different interrogator.

He’d miss Zana. He had really come to like her, even if he had to betray her in the end.


	6. Chapter 6

„And you are a... psychiatrist?“ Ann handed the plate to Zana, whose eyes widened a bit at the sheer volume of food heaped on it. Galen hoped she didn’t feel obliged to empty it - his mother had prepared at least six or seven courses, if he had counted correctly.

„Thank you. Not a psychiatrist - behavioural analyst.“ She began to pick at the fruit salad.

„Ah.“ Ann smiled and sat down. Galen glanced quickly at Yalu, who was sipping his wine. So far, his father had been mostly silent, but polite when prompted to say something. He had even smiled at Zana once. Galen didn’t want to get his hopes up - the evening was still young - but if Yalu could keep this up, dinner might not become a total disaster.

„Galen here has studied medicine,“ Ann informed Zana, who shot him a surprised look. Galen just shrugged. „He had even taken his first exam. If it hadn’t been for that girl...“ Ann sighed.

„It wasn’t Kira’s fault, mother,“ Galen said softly, but Ann ignored him.

„He then started studying the Law,“ she told Zana, „and he was really good at it, but then he began to add more and more courses, he can be so easily distracted...“

Galen stared down at his plate to avoid Zana’s questioning stare. Yes, he had never gotten around to mentioning it to her - all she knew was that he was the proverbial „eternal student,“ but she probably had just assumed that he had been a typical senator’s son, partying under the guise of some obscure major until his father had made a comfortable bed for him. Funnily enough, it had never seemed to bother her. That she was scrutinizing him _now_ was not without irony.

„I put an end to that this spring,“ his father’s rumbling voice made everyone jump. „I told him it’s high time he made himself useful, and what did he do? Became a pen-nibbler in an _office._ Is that why you’re playing with your food, because you’re not hungry anymore?“ he barked at Galen. „How many pens have you eaten today, huh?“ He chuckled.

Zana looked taken aback. The look she sent him clearly signaled confusion. ‘Won’t you say something?’

But Galen didn’t. There was no point in it, the man was just looking for a reason to spat with him, and he really, really didn’t want a shouting match at the table, at least not tonight. It was easier to just let it slide.

But his father wasn’t finished with him yet.

„I didn’t see you at the council session today. Shouldn’t you be there, scribbling away with your little nibbly pen, recording every word the _important_ people say?“

Now Galen did look up. „Zaius had a different assignment for me. - I didn’t know you’d notice either way.“ _Are you monitoring my whereabouts in the council building?_

„You should have been there. You could have learned something for a change - how crazy ideas can upset the natural order of our society.“ Yalu sniffed and poured himself another glass. „That crazy old woman wants us to send Gorillas to the universities. Gorillas! What’s next, I wonder? Letting Pavians become midwives?“

„Pavians are related to us, but they are clearly animals without speech and higher reasoning,“ Zana interjected. „They are not at all comparable to Gorillas.“

„No?“ Yalu stared at her. „You know what they say - Chimps think fast, Orangutans think deep, Gorillas - not at all.“ He burst into laughter. Zana didn’t smile. She took a sip from her wine glass.

„That woman“ - his father refused to even call her by name - „just uses this ‘equal opportunity’ bla bla as a ruse!“ Galen sent a pleading look to Ann, but she ignored him and continued to regally eat her salad, one berry at a time.

And Zana, of course, took the bait. „A ruse for what? Why shouldn’t Gorillas have access to higher education if they pass the entrance tests? What harm...“

„What harm?“ Yalu pointed his fork at her. „I’ll tell you what harm it does! How would you feel if your liver suddenly decided that it needs to go on a retreat and ‘find itself’, while your feet complain that it’s unfair to have them carry the rest of you all day - they want some of the fun that your ears are having!“

Zana frowned. „That is such nonsense! And people aren’t organs...“

„No? I’ll tell you how you’d feel! Sick! You’d feel sick, because your body would stop functioning! Just like ape society stops functioning when every ape suddenly takes off to ‘self-actualize’!“ Yalu’s voice was dripping with contempt. Galen resignedly speared a mushroom. He knew that speech by heart.

„Society isn’t there to cater to people’s whims! People are there to do their duty for society, in the place where they belong! Only then will Ape survive!“

„Well, that’s just your opinion...“

Yalu growled. „Children! No wonder that woman is throwing her net on the campus! Those young fools are so easily led along, with all that idealistic claptrap! Tell me, young lady, what is the average life expectancy of an ape?“

Zana blinked. „Uh... seventy years? For a Chimpanzee, at least...“

Yalu sniffed. „Ah. And when did the Lawgiver write the Sacred Scrolls?“

Zana tapped the handle of her fork on the table, a sure sign of her annoyance. She was smart enough to realize where Yalu’s argument was going, but had no chance to avoid answering his questions.

Galen suppressed a sigh and poured himself another glass of wine. _I told you that my father had been a lawyer before he became a senator. You really should’ve known better._

„Assuming that he was an actual historical person, seven hundred years ago.“

Yalu leaned back in his seat with a thin smile on his lips. „And you really think that the demands of the individual ape with his mayfly lifespan take precedence over the society that guarantees safety and prosperity not only for him, but also for his peers, his ancestors, _and_ his descendants, and does so over centuries? ‘Apes die, but Ape lives forever.’ Word of the Lawmaker. You young people really should study the Scrolls more seriously.“

Zana huffed. „That philosophical argument has been made and refuted since forever! What in the world does it have to do with professor Zibaya’s efforts to reform the education system?“

„She wants to destroy our society with her anarchism! Look around - we’re already halfway there! Gorillas playing soldier, Chimpanzees who think they’re scientists... What has the world come to?“

„Well, apparently Cesar’s College also thinks I’m a scientist, judging by the diploma they gave me,“ Zana remarked dryly. „And your son is neither a soldier nor a policeman, or firef...“

„Galen had a prefecture waiting for him, but my son preferred to skip the menial work to warm his ass in Zaius’ lap,“ Yalu cut her off.

„ _Yalu!“_ Ann put her fork down.

For a moment, an awkward silence hung over the room. Galen felt Zana’s eyes bore into the crown of his head. She expected him to take up the gauntlet; she couldn’t know that this was exactly what his father wanted. He took a sip of wine. He wouldn’t be goaded into an argument. Not tonight.

„So, what exactly does a behavioural analyst do, Zana?“ Ann asked brightly. Everyone began to breathe again, and Yalu even started to shove some mango slices into his mouth.

Zana put her glass down. „Well, I usually work with human cubs, from when they can walk - we call them toddlers - up to the onset of puberty,“ she began. Galen exchanged a quick smile with her, grateful that she was willing to play along. If only she understood that the key to this evening was to ignore his father... he _had_ told her on their way here, but she might not have realized that he was being serious when he said it.

_„Humans? “_

Galen closed his eyes. Of course his father couldn’t stay out of the conversation.

 _„That’s_ what we spend government money on? I thought you worked with _apes.“_

He heard Zana draw a deep breath and glanced at her hands. Her fingers were still, thankfully, but she gripped her fork perhaps a bit harder than necessary.

„Humans are - contrary to baboons - capable of speech, and they are very intelligent. We can learn so much just from...“

„You know what _I_ learned about humans? If you let their leash slip, they lay waste to our crops and torch the farms of your precious Gorilla farmers! Cut the babies out of their mothers’ wombs...“

The fork clattered on the plate. „That is _not true!_ That was _Urko’s_ propaganda...“

 _„I was there!_ I _saw_ what those beasts had done to our citizens! Do you want to call me a liar in my own house, at my own table?“

Zana wasn’t cowed. „I _studied_ that rebellion! And I didn’t just read Abilan’s war journal, I talked to actual veterans! The humans didn’t attack anyone first, they acted in self-defense, and that’s any animal’s instinct, or do you now demand of them the same rational behavior as from apes? Aren’t they suddenly animals anymore, when it’s not convenient?“ She turned to him, her eyes ablaze. „Galen, _say_ something!“

He raised his hands. „I’m not calling anyone on this table a liar. Please, can’t we just... serve the next course?“

„You coward!“ Zana hissed. Yalu heard it, too, of course.

„So you are calling my son a coward and me a liar? Nice girlfriend you selected there, Galen!“

Zana’s index finger was tapping rapidly against the rim of her plate. „I’m not calling you a liar, _sir!_ “

Yalu rose, leaning heavily on the table. „Silly girls should stick to kittens and horsies and not waste the tax money of hard-working apes! Why don’t you research something useful? I own half a dozen humans. They do as they’re told, or they get the whip. What else is there to know?“

Zana rose, too. „I guess it’s difficult to fit new information into a skull already filled with prejudice,“ she said icily.

Yalu stared at her. „Did you just call me a fool?“

Zana stared back. „No sir. I just called you a _damn fool!“_

„Well! I think it’s time for the main course,“ Ann said briskly. „Yalu, dear, you can help me in the kitchen.“ She grabbed the older chimp’s arm and pulled him out of the room.

Zana stood frozen to the spot, too livid to even look at him. Galen cast for something to break the ringing silence.

„Well... that escalated quickly,“ he offered faintly.

Her nostrils flared as she fought for control. „You weren’t exactly helpful just now, either, Galen.“

He raised his hands. „I told you to ignore his jabs, Zana. I know my father - he just wants to rile people to have a reason to lay into them. It would have been smarter to...“

_„Smarter? “_

„You just embarrassed him in his own house, in front of his family,“ Galen said tiredly. „That was a bit... a bit inappropriate, don’t you think?“

Zana stared at him, her mouth agape. „He just insulted me, my intelligence, and my work, and you expect me to swallow this load of crap, and nod and smile? Are you _insane?“_

„He didn’t mean it! He just wanted to rile you...“

„Stop making excuses for him, dammit!"

„I’m not making excuses! Perhaps you can’t know Chimp etiquette, since you grew up among Orangutans, but as the host and head of the family, he can get away with things you’d call out others for!“

„Don’t bring my family into this, Galen! I know well enough about Chimp etiquette and I’ll have you know that I don’t afford _anyone_ special privileges to be an asshole!“

„Did you just call my father...“

She threw up her arms in exasperation. „No, I didn’t, I was talking in general...“

„In general? Ha! You’d never call Zaius a fool... a _damn_ fool to his face, in his own house...“

„You bet I would if he’d spouted that kind of nonsense I just heard from your father...“

„Oh come on, Zana, do you really mean to tell me that you’d endanger your career or even go to jail for insulting the Council Eldest?“

Zana stared at him for a moment. „That’s what would happen, wouldn’t it?“ she asked. Her voice was thoughtful; she had stopped shouting, though Galen wasn’t sure if that was a good sign.

„What does that say about us, Galen? How did we come to this, that we don’t dare to call others out on their cruelty, or their prejudice, or their injustice? That we nod and smile, and let it slide, and appease our father, or our friends, or our boss...“ She pointed at him accusingly. „I’ll tell you how - because we tell ourselves it’s not important enough, not bad enough to get ourselves in trouble for!

„We draw a line, and when that line gets crossed, we retreat. And the next one, and the next one, and suddenly, we stop even _drawing_ those lines. We huddle in a corner and hope they don’t see us. We hope they’ll come for someone else.“

She grabbed her purse and went to the door. „I’m not like that, Galen, I’ll never be, and I thought you were the same. I thought I’d found a man. Now I see you’re just a boy. Grow up, Galen. Be a man I can respect.“

He felt a stab of panic lancing through him as she took her coat from the hanger. „Where are you going? My mother is preparing the next course...“

„I’ve lost my appetite, and I’m sure your parents have, too, by now.“ She shrugged her coat on. „And I need a bit of fresh air.“

„I’ll bring you...“

„No.“ She held up a hand. „I can find my way alone, and I’m not in the mood for company right now, Galen.“ _Especially not yours,_ she didn’t say, but he heard it all the same.

She turned around once more in the open doorway. „I think it’s best if we don’t see each other for a few days. I need to think long and hard about the future this relationship may have... or not have, and I suggest you do the same.“

Galen was still staring at the door when Ann returned to living room.

„What a delightful girl,“ she said, and and snacked on a grape while one of the slaves began to collect the plates. „She reminds me of myself at that age.“

Galen couldn’t tear his eyes away from the spot where she had been a moment ago.

„I think she just broke up with me,“ he whispered.

* * *

 ****The weather was brilliant - a white-hot sun bleaching the sky from blue to washed-out grey right after sunrise, a warm breeze rustling the leaves, birds cawing somewhere in the thickets. Zana thought that the world could show some decency and send a hailstorm to match her mood; it was just another sign that nobody really cared.

Her eyelids were drooping, and her head was throbbing with the dull ache of a sleepless night. She had wasted precious hours of rest with brooding over the mess that was her relationship, and she still hadn’t come to a conclusive result. She didn’t really want to break up with Galen, but she couldn’t bear to see him right now, either. She hadn’t exaggerated when she told him he had lost her respect. Right now, the mere memory of his pitiful face set her teeth on edge.

Zana swallowed a yawn when she leaned against the heavy doors of the institute that always, always refused to open for her at the first try. She didn’t think she’d be able to read anything today, so perhaps she should just walk right by her office door and down to the kennels...

„The director wants to see you at once, doctor.“ The concierge in his glass cubicle didn’t even look up from his newspaper. She longingly eyed the steaming cup of tea on his desk when she passed him.

Despite her exhaustion, a tiny knot of apprehension began to build in her stomach as she climbed the stairs. She couldn’t think of anything that would make Zorvan want to see her first thing in the morning. Nothing good, anyway.

His face was severe enough to make the knot flare into her chest with alarm. „Your humans escaped from their cage last night,“ he said abruptly, before she had even sat down. „They managed to break into the council building before they could be caught.“

The knot of apprehension exploded white-hot in her chest. For a moment she just stared at Zorvan, dumbfounded. „Escaped,“ she repeated slowly. She sank into the chair, her knees suddenly weak.

„The door was open,“ Zorvan confirmed. His eyes bored into hers. „You did lock the door to their cage yesterday, didn’t you?“

„Yes... yes, I’m sure,“ she stammered. „Besides, Gula always checks after me.“ The head of the zookeepers always made a point of rattling the door when she was still around to see it; for the first time, she was glad for his impertinence.

„Then they must have found a way to manipulate the lock. Wily beasts,“ Zorvan murmured.

„Where are they now?“ Zana managed to ask. _Oh please, don’t let them have been shot._

„They’re being transferred back to the institute as we speak. They spent the night at the city watchhouse, because they refused to give their identities. It was only when we sent a messenger over to the watch this morning that they could be processed.“ Zorvan drummed his fingers. „I don’t have to tell you that this is a grave situation, Zana. What in the world could they have been looking for in the council building?“ He watched her as if she had to know.

Zana shook her head. „I have no idea... I’ll see if I can find out when they’re here.“

„You won’t be here when they arrive.“ Zorvan handed her a slip of paper. „Zaius wants to see you right now. Actually, he wants to see you an hour ago, but I wanted to give you a heads-up.“

She took the paper with numb fingers. „Thank you, professor. I appreciate that.“

The Orangutan looked at her with something like pity in his eyes. „Whatever happens, Zana, you know we’re all on your side here.“

She smiled weakly at that. Everyone was scrambling to the back of the line right now, but it was nice of Zorvan to lie to her like that. She rose. „Please, don’t do anything with them,“ or _to_ them, „until I’m back. Zaius has the last word on them, so I need to hear what he has to say.“

 

The study was a silent glade, morning sunlight flecking the walls with gold and green. Zaius was reading a newspaper at his desk, his outline a silent, ominous shadow. He said nothing when Zana slipped into the opposite chair, just handed her the paper.

WILD HUMANS CAUGHT INSIDE CITY COUNCIL

Two photos of Alan and Peet _\- oh Alan, have they beaten you again? -_ and in slightly smaller print, DANGEROUS HUMANS TRYING TO DESTROY BUILDING?

She dropped the paper. „I didn’t know you read the _Simian Dawn.“_ It was a weak retort, she knew.

„I read all the newspapers, even the ones that are only good to wrap fish in,“ Zaius said mildly, „after all, I need to know what the ape on the street thinks.“ He leaned back and began to pack his pipe.

„Right now, they think that their leaders cannot keep some dangerous humans under control - that wild beasts, _dangerous_ beasts, are free to roam the city at night. Will they run the streets by day next? Crash into their little girls’ bedrooms?“ He lit the pipe. „You can imagine the uproar I’m having to deal with right now? I’ve been beating the reporters away with a stick, not to mention the esteemed senators in this very building.“

„I’m so sorry,“ Zana whispered. „The doors were locked...“

Zaius waved her apology aside. „I’m sure you did everything by the book, Zana. I’m not blaming you. I called you here to reassure you that you won’t have to worry about your career over this... debacle. And to officially release you from this assignment.“

She had been expecting this; she had, but it still hit her with brutal force. „Who... who will take over?“

Zaius coughed around his pipe, surprised. „Nobody will take over, Zana. This experiment is being shut down.“ He shook his head as he noticed her look. „I cannot justify this to the council any longer; those two fools have made sure of that last night.“

„What will happen to them?“ Her voice was thick with fear.

Zaius took a long draw on his pipe.

„You don’t have to be there,“ his voice was soothing, his face blurred behind blue smoke. „Take a few days off... I can give Galen off, too, and you can go on a little holiday together...“

„You don’t have to kill them!“ Zana felt a sob building in her throat. „We can provide better security, a guard in front of the door... no open-air enclosure...“

„Zana.“ Zaius voice was calm. Unmoved. Unmoving, like a mountain. „I told you, I can no longer justify their presence... their _existence_ to the council. They have proven that they are unpredictable, uncontrollable, and just too smart for their own good. They pose an incalculable risk to our city, our very society, and we cannot tolerate such a threat in our midst.“ He paused, waiting for her protest. But she couldn’t take in enough air to say anything.

„I’m sorry Zana, I really am,“ Zaius said finally. „I shouldn’t have burdened you with such an assignment. You are so young, and I can see that you have bonded with them... more than you should have. Take that leave, girl, let Galen distract you from your worries. When you come back, your human cubs will already be waiting for you. I heard they’ve been missing you very much.“

Zana wasn’t crying, no, she was just taking deep breaths through her mouth. To calm herself down. To regain her self-control.

„I won’t take that leave, Uncle Zaius,“ she finally said when she thought her voice wouldn’t waver. „It’s my assignment. I’ll do it myself.“

„Wha... no, Zana. No.“ Zaius leaned forward, concern written in his features. „That is not part of your job.“

She sniffed. „I can send you the regulations for the handling of laboratory animals, if you want to have a look yourself. I’ve studied them extensively.“ _When I was looking for something that would allow me to take Peet into the city... oh Peet..._

„It’s a normal part of my job,“ she insisted, avoiding his eyes. She dabbed at her own, angry at the moisture she felt there.

„They were my responsibility. It’s my fault that they found themselves presented with an opportunity they couldn’t resist. I cannot back out now. That’d be cowardly.“ She finally met his eyes. „I should be with them to the end.“

* * *

Sally told herself that she wasn’t haunting the empty rooms to say goodbye. She was merely checking that she hadn’t forgotten some odd thing anywhere, something they’d later, after the keys had changed owners, find missing. You only noticed these things after you couldn’t retrieve them anymore.

Her steps sounded too loud without the rugs on the floor; it was stupid to roll them up and take them to their new apartment, which was so small that they wouldn’t have the space to lay them out again, but... they had picked them out together after Alan had bought the house, and although Sally knew she was being sentimental and stupid, and the rugs were old, she just couldn’t leave them behind.

Chris had been furious when she had told him that she had set up the house for sale and found a new job on the West Coast.

„Who do you think you are to decide that over my head?“ he had yelled.

„I’m your mother, and it’s my job to decide things like that for our family!“

„My friends are here, my school... _my project!“_

Chris’ project. The campaign to bring his dad home had become his obsession, his reason to get out of bed each morning. He had been filled with glee when that job had evaporated in the last moment, even though it meant he now had to live in a tiny apartment. Sally shifted Helen onto her other hip and stared out of the window, not really seeing the fireplace where they had had their last barbecue, the night before lift off.

She shouldn’t have allowed Hasslein to bait them, string them along for two years with this fairytale. She couldn’t fault her son for falling for it - she had clung to it herself, desperate to believe that she’d see Alan again... how often had she seen herself falling into his arms, the vision so vivid that she could feel the warmth of his body beneath the shirt, breathe in his scent-

She swallowed back tears. Two years - it should be getting better, shouldn’t it?

But enough was enough. After all this time, everyone who could authorize the rescue mission was certain that the crew had to be dead. Actually, that had been the argument from the beginning - how would they survive the timespan that was needed to build another ship? Hasslein hadn’t told them about the time-travel angle to his technology, and he had sworn her to secrecy about it, too. He had been worried that ANSA would scrap the project altogether out of disbelief; now they had scrapped it for its futility.

She dragged herself up the stairs, to the bedroom where her open travel bag lay on their... on her... on the bed, waiting for those last forgotten artifacts of her former life. She put Helen down on the bed and began to zip the bag closed.

„Mommy!“

When she looked up, her necklace was dangling from her daughter’s little fist. It must have fallen between the pillows; strange how she hadn’t noticed that it had gone missing.

She gently untangled the chain from Helen’s sticky little fingers and sat beside her.

„Look, there’s Chris,“ she held up the pendant with Chris’ face etched into it. He had been five when she had a new picture commissioned; on the backside, his baby smile beamed at her.

„Mommy!“ Helen pointed.

„Yes, that’s mommy. And that’s your daddy.“ Tears sprang from her eyes, blurring Alan’s smile.

„Lennie! Look!“

She sniffed and wiped her eyes. „Yes, that’s you. We’re all together here.“

Her fingers caressed Alan’s pendant.

She should take it off. Put it in her jewelry box. Acknowledge that they were _not_ all together anymore, and would never be together again.

Thundering footsteps were pounding up the stairs. Chris burst into the room, prompting a hiccup in startled Helen.

„We’re a go!“ he gasped. He grasped her shoulders when she just stared at him blankly. „Don’t you get it, Mom? They’ve greenlighted the project! They’ll build the _Daedalus_!“ He released her and took a step back, fists clenched, cheeks red with excitement.

„We’ll bring Dad home!“


	7. Chapter 7

Zana had a strange sense of dejà vu when she walked down the silent row of cages. The looks the humans gave her were much like on that first day: guarded, sullen. She saw that Alan wasn’t as roughed up as she had feared from the photo in the newspaper.

Not that it mattered anymore.

„I’m sorry for the trouble you must be in because of us,“ he said softly... but unapologetically.

 _The trouble I’m in! You have no idea of the trouble I..._ No, they didn’t, she realized with a sudden wave of nausea. They had no idea what was coming.

_And I’m the one who has to tell them._

She felt like crying again.

„How could you be so stupid?“ she asked helplessly.

Peet crossed the cage and grabbed the bars with both hands. „Perhaps you should spend some time on this side of them,“ he shook them, „and rethink that question.“ He pushed away from the bars. „Our first duty was to escape.“

She noted his choice of words. _I’m not one of your ‘captured in the wild’ animals._ That was exactly the problem, she thought tiredly.

„You should have escaped, then. What were you doing in the council building?“

He gave her a sideways glance. „Looking for our stuff.“

„Your _stuff?“_ She threw her arms up in despair. „ That’s why you didn’t run straight to the city walls as fast as you could and keep on running until you reached strays’ territory? What could be so important to delay you until you got captured to be _executed?“_

They stared at her.

There. She had said it.

There really was no way she could have told them other than screaming. You will die, you fools, you will die, and how can I tell you that as if I was discussing your lunch?

Peet licked his lips. „So that’s... that’s it, then, yeah?“ He looked as numb as she felt, nodding slightly, as if repeating her words in his mind. „Execution. We’re,“ he waved at the cage, „on death row.“

Alan looked pale, too. „I... honestly hadn’t expected this,“ he murmured. „This seems like a... an overreaction.“

„I’m so sorry.“ Zana rubbed her face. „I tried to convince Zaius to change his mind... but he said he couldn’t justify it to the council anymore. I really tried,“ she repeated.

Alan nodded, that absent look still in his eyes.

She heard the Gorillas coming down the stairs then. The humans turned their heads in the direction of the noise, too.

That’s when she fled.

 

Gula found her sitting on the stairs to the open-air enclosure, her head buried in her hands.

„Everything’s ready,“ he told her gruffly. „We tied ‘em down to the tables in the lab. Din’ struggle much,“ he added after a moment. „Din’ even have to beat ‘em... much.“

„Thank you, Gula,“ Zana murmured. „I’ll be there in a minute.“ She sat unmoving until the sound of his footsteps had faded into the distance.

She felt only exhaustion now. That was good. No energy left for grief or guilt, she could do this now. It would be quick and painless, just a deep sleep without awakening. It was very civilized.

Yes, they were so civilized.

Her feet were heavy, her shoulders were heavy, the _air_ had become heavy and her chest hurt from the exertion of sucking it in. When she opened the door to the lab, the men were silent, but the air was thick with the scent of their fear.

Peet’s eyes widened when he saw her. „What are _you_ doing here?“ It took him a second of white-faced refusal of the obvious, before he sputtered, „Look, you... you can’t be serious... seriously doing that? Why _you?“_ His voice broke at the last word. Her heart broke, too.

„Because you’re my responsibility, Peet.“ Her voice was surprisingly calm, surprisingly steady. How did she do that? She didn’t know. „It wouldn’t be right to send someone else.“ She took the wrong glass bottle from the cupboard, read the label, put it down, grabbed the right one.

„Did Urko tell you that?“ She wished he would stop struggling against the leather straps tying him to the table. It was useless, but so painful to watch. „Or Zaius?“ Zana heard him draw a sharp breath when she began to draw up the drug into the first syringe.

„This is murder - I’m not an animal, _I didn’t do anything!_ I didn’t kill anyone, I didn’t... I didn’t attack anyone, I didn’t even _steal_ a damn thing!“

„Zana...“ That was Alan’s voice, deep and hoarse. She didn’t turn to look at him. She carefully set down the first syringe and took up the second one. „You don’t have to do this yourself. Pete is right. Send... send someone else.“

Her hands shook. He was thinking of what this was doing to _her,_ instead of what _she_ was doing to _them?_ How could he? _How could he?_

She came to his table to put the tourniquet around his upper arm and forced herself to look at his face then. She had told Zaius she wasn’t a coward and she wouldn’t do this without looking them in the eye. He was lying still, not struggling against the restraints, but his eyes were wet.

„Don’t do it, Zana,“ he whispered. „Don’t let them use you like that. If you do this, it will haunt you for the rest of your life.“

The syringes shattered on the floor. She couldn’t see his face, everything was blurred by her tears. She turned away and hastily wiped her eyes.

„Clean up that mess,“ she said harshly to the animal attendant who had been watching them silently from the door. „Put the shards away before someone steps in them.“

 _I can’t do this. This isn’t right. I_ won’t _do this._ She swallowed and quickly drew up two other syringes while the Gorilla set to work.

This time, she didn’t look into Alan’s face. She heard Peet moan _Zana, please..._ while she listened to Alan’s breaths becoming shallow. When she looked up, his eyes, his wonderful blue eyes, were half shut. His lips had parted slightly. She felt for the pulse at his throat.

Peet had stopped struggling when she came to his table, but his whole body was rigid. His eyes were wide, pupils huge from fear he else refused to show. Her proud, stubborn human.

„Funny thing,“ he whispered. „In our world, apes can’t cry. ‘s just not in their repertoire. I always wondered if they cry here.“

She inserted the needle into his vein. „They do, Peet. They do.“

Afterwards, she told the Gorilla not to let anyone move the bodies; „They’re slated for dissection later.“ She locked the door after him. It was shortly after lunch break.

She didn’t bother to put in a leave notice. She just kept walking.

* * *

Zaius didn’t look up when the necklace was dropped on the desk before him. Urko hadn’t bothered to knock; he never did. So Zaius didn’t bother to acknowledge him right away. It had become their way of greeting.

He heard the seat creak as the Gorilla sat down with a sigh.

„That’s all they had from your stuff,“ the general growled. „That clown from the city watch swore up and down they never entered your office, though.“ He gestured towards the jewelry. „Which begs the question how that ended up back around the human's neck.“ A slow smile spread over his face. „Such a nice neck. I’m sure their heads would’ve been a highlight on my wall. Unfortunately they wouldn’t let me take a souvenir - they want them for dissection.“ He carefully pronounced the word. „But I have dibs on their balls - told them not to lose ‘em.“ He laughed heartily about his own joke.

Zaius just glanced at him with disgust before he took up the necklace. He held it up: human faces were engraved on the pendants. Probably some family members. He could understand why the human had wanted it back so urgently. He slowly put it back down.

„That is, indeed, an interesting question,“ he acknowledged, pointedly ignoring the rest of Urko’s words.

The Gorilla smiled, a sardonic glint in his eye; he’d noticed, of course. „Better check your inventory,“ he advised, „who knows what else is missing.“

„Such as explosives, you mean?“ Zaius asked testily. „I’ll have a lock installed tomorrow, in acknowledgement of the city’s deteriorating mores. I don’t want another... earth-shattering committee session. I think we all had enough excitement for some time.“

Urko’s smile widened. „Oh, I know of some arses I’d like to light that fire under.“

Zaius just shook his head. How that ape had managed to rise through the ranks without resistance was beyond him. He was already dangerous enough now, but apparently his ambition couldn’t be satisfied within the military any longer.

If Urko became a political problem, it would fall to Zaius to solve it. He didn’t look forward to that day, but he wasn’t a fool. The day would inevitably come. He closed his hand around the pendant.

Urko nodded at it. „We could’ve been sitting here like that weeks ago, without all that ‘earth-shattering’ nonsense, if you’d listened to me from the beginning.“ He stretched his legs. „Told you there’s only one way to deal with the critters.“ He pointed his index finger at Zaius like a gun. „Right between the eyes. Pow pow.“ His teeth gleamed.

„Yes, and in another ten years we kill the next batch,“ Zaius huffed. „Or perhaps the next batch will come in five years, or in two. And perhaps it won’t be one machine. Perhaps it will be one hundred.“

„Perhaps, perhaps.“ Urko scoffed. „Perhaps you should stop shitting your pants over things that may never happen. Let ‘em come. We’ll deal with them as we already did. Twice!“

Zaius banged his fist on the table in frustration. „Don’t you understand, Urko? These humans can build machines that fly among the stars! What kind of weapons can they build with that knowledge? We can’t even begin to understand them, and now that I was forced to kill these two, we’re no closer to knowing how to prepare for their arrival. And they _will_ come, make no mistake.“

He rose and went to the window. When he spoke, he didn’t see the city sprawling out from under him, bright screens against the sun dotting the trees’ crowns like exotic flowers, birds rustling in the undergrowth, children screaming and laughing from some schoolyard, out of sight.

„Do you know what it’s like to have a recurring nightmare? I run from disaster, but it follows me wherever I turn. Then finally, it is gone. I’m free.

„And then it rises before me. Fire falling from the sky... and a huge wave rising to swallow us all. A gigantic wall of blackness, rising and rising, until it fills the sky. I can feel the earth shaking. I hear children screaming.“ He turned around.

„That is what human destruction will look like when they’ll come. When the day comes.“

The soldier looked unimpressed. „Dreams. They’re for women and old men.“ He snorted. „If you’re so concerned for our safety, why don’t you dedicate more of the budget to our weapons research and development department than to that crazy woman’s ‘movement’?“

Zaius sighed. What had possessed him to share his most private fears with that brute? Just because Urko hated the humans with disturbing intensity, it didn’t mean he would also share Zaius’ understanding of the danger they really posed.

„I’d have thought you’d be more sympathetic to the plight of your fellow Gorillas,“ he noted.

Urko rose from his seat. „They aren’t my _fellas._ Everything I am, I made myself. I sweat, I bled, and I tore each and every promotion from the closed fists of chimps who thought I’d only be useful for digging latrines and bashing human cubs against rocks. I didn’t receive alms from a middle-aged ‘activist’ who projects her unfulfilled motherhood needs on grunting knuckleheads who don’t know their arse from their face.“ He put on his helmet. „And I wouldn’t have taken them, either.“

His heavy steps sounded down the corridor.

Zaius opened his palm and stared at the necklace. He didn’t want to ponder who could have taken it to the human. It wasn’t important. It didn’t have any capacity to do harm and anyway, it was back where it belonged.

But it would probably wise to „check his inventory.“ Sometimes even uncivilized brutes had a bright thought. He slowly wandered down the shelves, frowned when he came across the box with explosives, now lacking half of its content... nothing else seemed to be amiss.

Then his eyes fell upon the book cabinet.

Someone had taken the time to close the gap between the books, but Zaius knew all of them by heart and like a hen realizing that one of her chickens was missing, he noticed in a single, heart-stopping moment that the History of the War was not in its place.

The humans had never been in here; Urko had no interest in books - he had only stolen the explosive to force his hand in the session. Nobody else had access to this room... save one ape.

With a groan, Zaius left the study.

Yalu was his oldest friend. They didn’t always see eye to eye in the Council... well, almost never, to be honest... but how - how in the world was he going to tell him about his son?

For a moment, Zaius just sat at his desk, his head in his hands.

Then he straightened with a sigh and reached for the bell. His servant appeared a moment later.

„Get me Galen, right away,“ he told him. But the human didn’t move.

„Master Galen hasn’t come to work today, sir.“

Zaius sighed. „Then go find General Urko. It’s his business now, anyway.“

* * *

The sunlight was as unreal as the cobblestones, as distant as the waving leaves, as etheric as her own body. Zana was a floating consciousness, all eyes, no body. She didn’t feel her feet, but she also didn’t feel her heart, and that was good. She knew, with the unquestioning certainty of a dreamer, that her heart was currently somewhere far away, howling and raw, and she was absently happy that she wasn’t in that place, too.

She had no destination in mind, no mind to hold a destination in, she only felt that to keep moving was soothing her; as long as she put one foot in front of the other, her heart kept lagging behind. If she kept walking, it would never catch up with her.

Sometimes, sudden impressions would flare up in her mind with blinding clarity, taking on the weight of reality for a moment: a little chimp boy on his mother’s hand, staring up into her face as he was dragged along; an old Orangutan woman carefully arranging a potted plant in a windowbox; a young human, his back bowed under a heavy load, head down, trotting after his master; a vendor selling ice cream...

_Peet closing his eyes in bliss as he ate his ice cream, sighing with pleasure and Peet jumping into the air, throwing the ball through the ring-net on the wall and Peet and Alan racing over the lawn, trying to snatch the ball from each other without touching the other’s body - they were always trying to explain the rules of their games to her, but they had so many different ball games and she always confused which rule belonged to which game - and Alan lying in the grass on his back and smiling up to her and his eyes were as blue as the sky above her_

She rubbed her eyes and rubbed her eyes, but the tears wouldn’t stop and she couldn’t bear the stares of the passersby anymore.

_I’m not a murderer._

_I don’t know what I am anymore._

She was out of breath and hot inside her fur when she reached the top of the hill far above the city, but she didn’t pause to catch her breath; she threw off her robe and began to climb the old oak that crowned the hill, strong chimp arms catapulting her into the branches in mere moments.

She stood on the lower branches for a moment, hugging the trunk as if drowning.

 _I didn’t do what I should’ve done._ The thought didn’t form actual words in her head; it was a certainty that seemed to emerge from her very bones, a sudden ache that was trembling through her like the wind in the leaves above her.

_I can never go back now._

She slowly began to rock herself, tearing at the trunk. When the smooth wood didn’t budge, she grabbed the branches above her, shaking them with growing fury. The leaves rustled as in a storm, showering the naked earth around the trunk. She shook the tree with ever greater force, feeling the rage build and build inside herself until it broke free from her throat. She shook the tree against the city, against the council, against Zaius, against herself, screaming at the top of her lungs until she couldn’t breathe anymore, until her chest hurt, her throat hurt, and she huddled against the trunk, her head against the rough wood.

And her heart finally caught up with her.


	8. Chapter 8

The tea was hot. That was good. It was also bitter, and so strong that Galen couldn't see the bottom of his mug, and the combination of those qualities had proven its effectiveness in battling many a hangover from out-of-control student parties. Unfortunately, it didn't help against the burning eyes and pounding headache one got after a night of reading a fading script and brooding over the breakup with one's girlfriend.

Galen had thus sent one of his father's slaves to the council to put in his sick note and taken the day off. He was still moping over his first cup of tea when his mother sailed into the kitchen and poured a cup for herself. She paused, looked into her cup, and added more hot water.

„You'll peel off the lining of your stomach with this brew one day," she said as she sat down opposite of him. Galen smiled morosely and took another sip.

„Oh, I doubt that," he said after his tongue had relaxed enough to form vowels again. „And it does help against the headache."

„Have you been up studying all night again?" Ann added honey to her tea. Galen shuddered slightly with disgust at the sight.

„I just couldn't sleep." For some reason, he didn't want to mention the Book to her.

Ann shot him a knowing look. „You should just go to her and apologize, Galen."

Galen sighed into his tea. „I really doubt that would be enough. Zana is a scientist, Mother - she wants proof." He looked up into her eyes, as calm and unconcerned as ever, and confessed: „She said she couldn't respect me anymore. How am I going to change that with an apology?"

Ann sipped her tea. „Admitting a mistake seems a rather admirable trait to me. Not many people can do that - are you telling me it's not worthy of respect?"

Galen snorted and looked away. „Has father ever admitted a mistake?"

„Oh yes, I can think of at least one occasion." The glint in his mother's eyes matched the amusement in her voice. Galen leaned back, intrigued.

„What happened?"

„That was when he was still courting me. Your father had put it into his mind, you see, that I was the only woman he ever wanted to have in his life. He was terribly jealous, but at that time, we weren't betrothed yet, and when that nice young ape invited me for Summer Dance, I said yes. Your father was livid - he had been so sure I would go with him that he hadn't even asked me." She took another sip from her tea. „He made a terrible scene on the dancefloor," she said thoughtfully.

Galen smiled with anticipation. „And then?"

„Well, I went home with neither of them, and I refused to see him for... I think it was three weeks before he turned up on our porch with the biggest bouquet of flowers I ever had - save for our wedding - and apologized then and there, where everyone could hear him, for making such a scene." She took another sip.

„And then I made him apologize for not asking me out in the first place. I told him that I won't be taken for granted. You have to leave it to your father," she looked pointedly at him, „he never makes the same mistake twice."

„I'm afraid he isn't crazy enough for me to apologize for the scene he made yesterday," Galen muttered. He scowled. „Why is she mad at _me_ for it? I wanted to _avoid_ a scene, not add fuel to the fire."

„She apparently disagrees with you on your tactic," Ann commented and rose to put her cup away. „Anyway, nothing prevents you from coming up with a different one." She leaned down to peck him on the cheek. „I'm going out. Really, Galen, sighing into one's tea has never solved a problem in the whole history of apekind." She called for Mouna, and the human silently appeared out of nowhere, basket already strapped to her back, and helped her into her robe.

His mother was right, Galen admitted to himself after he door had closed behind them. He should seek out Zana (but she didn't want to see him, she said so), seek her out and apologize and promise to stand up to Yalu in the future...

... his father shuffled into the kitchen, looking as rumpled and ill-tempered as ever, poured himself some tea and hunkered down at the kitchen table without a word. Galen winced internally. He should have gotten up and retreated into his room when mother left, but now it was too late. Leaving now would be ill-mannered, and provoke yet another caustic comment from his father. He took another draw from his tea. At least it was bitter enough to discourage small talk.

„Gah! That swill is horrible!"

Well, apparently it didn't affect _every_ tongue.

„What are _you_ doing here at this time of day? Shouldn't you be already at your desk?"

„I've taken a day off," Galen murmured. If he managed to empty his cup, he'd be justified to stand up from the table for a refill. From the stove, it was only two steps to the door...

„Didn't _feel_ like working today, eh? In my youth, we went to work no matter if we _felt_ _like it_ or not. I once had food poisoning - had to jump behind the bushes every two minutes. Did I miss a day of work? No I didn't!"

His father was staring at him from across the table, Galen could feel it. He took another gulp from the bitter brew and gagged. Perhaps he _had_ let it sit for too long.

„No discipline, no sense of duty," his father muttered, „but a sense of _entitlement_ , oh yes, that they have. That they have."

„I'm sure nobody misses me at work, it's unimportant enough not to make a difference, or so you said yourself," Galen couldn't stop himself from saying.

His father snorted. „Even nibbling a pen is more worthwhile than moping over that insolent girl."

For the first time, Galen met his father's eyes. „She's not insolent, she merely defended her point of view. A lot of people aren't used to your... way of debate."

Great Cesar, was he still trying to appease his father?

„She called me a fool... no, wait, she called me a _damn_ fool, at my own table! If that's _her_ 'way of debate,' I've heard enough of it! I don't want to see her in this house again, understood?" Yalu rose to pour out his tea and began to heap fresh leaves into the pot. Now would be a good opportunity to flee.

„I don't think you have to worry about that," Galen said through clenched teeth. „It's unlikely that she wants to put a foot over our threshold again, either."

His father was pouring hot water over the leaves. „Well, good riddance!"

It was just like with Kira, Galen suddenly realized, except Zana had been graceful enough to give him a warning. Kira had simply dumped him. Both women had been thoroughly disgusted with his father.

No, that wasn't true. They had been disgusted with Yalu's spineless son.

„Zana actually had a point, you know?" he surprised himself saying. „Why should Gorillas and Chimps _not_ go to university? We already have many fine Chimp scientists, like Zana herself - or Kira, who has become an excellent surgeon... just as I would have, if you hadn't disgusted her so thoroughly that she broke up with me..."

His father returned to the table with the steaming teapot. „What, now _I_ _'_ _m_ responsible for your inability to finish anything?"

Galen's grip tightened around his mug. „Well, it was you who stopped paying for my studies this spring."

„You weren't any closer to your exams than when you began, always adding more courses..."

„And I got excellent grades in all of them," Galen retorted.

„That's not the point," Yalu growled, „you were procrastinating indefinitely, don't take me for a fool, Galen, is that where your girlfriend got that notion from?"

„She's a scientist, she draws her conclusions from the evidence in front of her," Galen hissed.

Yalu blinked.

Galen held his breath. Both men stared at each other across the table.

Yalu leaned back, his eyes narrow. „Say it, I dare you."

Galen shook his head. „You aren't a fool, father - a fool believes in his own lies. You _know_ that our society won't crumble just because one Gorilla out of ten begins to study agrotech instead of tilling his field with a stick like his father did. You just _choose_ to claim that it does out of... I don't know? Political expediency? Personal preference? You like to have a caste around that you can despise, just like you despise me?"

If Galen had hoped his father would deny despising him, Yalu refused to give him that reassurance. He just sat there, staring at him with an unreadable expression.

Well, it was good to at least have confirmation. Galen swallowed. „You promote those lies despite knowing better, that makes you worse than a fool, it makes you a hypocrite."

„Hypocrite." His father repeated the word slowly, as if tasting it, inspecting it from all sides. „Calling me names, at my own table, _again_ \- that seems to become a new custom in my house lately. Tell me, what else did she fill you with, except insolence? Did she also infect you with that unnatural love of humans? Like old Zurna?"

Galen stared at him. Rumour had it that Zurna used his humans not just for work, but also for... recreational purposes.

He had heard a lot from his father over the years, but this was a new low.

„I won't stand for that," he finally said softly. „I won't let you insult her like that, and I've had enough of you insulting me every day." He rose. „I should thank you though, for opening my eyes to what's really important to me." He turned toward the stairs.

„So crawl under her skirt, like you always did with your mother," he heard Yalu call after him, „you never change, never stand on your own two feet, you always need a woman to hold your little paw!"

Galen closed the door on his jeering voice.

He stood in his room for a moment, the Book already in his bag, trying to decide what else to take with him. With a jolt, he realized that there was nothing he felt sufficiently sentimental about. He made a last round, scanning the shelves.

No, really, there was nothing. Strange how he had never noticed before.

His father didn't look up from his newspaper when he left the house.

* * *

The sun had already vanished behind the horizon and the sky was glowing with indirect light, casting the road and the trees into the shadowless twilight that seemed to originate from nowhere and everywhere at once; during that short time everything stood out sharply, illuminated from within, before all shapes dissolved into the shadows of early evening.

Galen's feet were burning and aching by now, but the hope to find her here quickened his steps again. He had thought he knew all her favourite places by now, but she had never mentioned this one. It had been her father who had described it to him, after Galen had turned up at his door, convinced that she had to be at home after what he had learned at the institute.

„She used to hide up there when she was a little girl, she thought nobody knew of the place. She was so dismayed when I climbed up to her to bring her home." The old man had chuckled a bit at the memory. „It took some time before I could persuade her to come down with me."

Galen hoped he wouldn't have to climb into the tree and talk her down. He didn't know if he had the energy left.

She seemed to have seen him at the same moment he saw her, her white robe glowing in the blueish twilight, her step faltering; then she came running down the path towards him. He stumbled back two steps with the impact, and they both almost fell into the dust.

Her hands were clutching his tunic, so much fabric crumpled between her fingers that it became uncomfortably tight all of a sudden.

„Did you know? _Did you know?_ _"_

He closed his arms around her. „No, I didn't, I didn't know, I swear, Zana, I wasn't even at work today, I only learned about it when I came by your office..." He laid his cheek on the crown of her head. „I didn't know, and I'm so, so sorry. It's a shame - they were so interesting..."

Zana was breathing into his tunic; not crying, just leaning against him. He could feel the exhaustion in her shoulders, her back.

Finally she looked up to him, her face a blurry pale spot in the dwindling light. „You have to help me, Galen."

„Of course." He squeezed her shoulders. „Just tell me what to do."

„You need to help me get them out."

He stared at her, uncomprehending. „Get them out?"

She breathed out sharply, laid her hands flat on his chest. „I told you I'm not like that, that I don't shrink back... but it's not true, I'm no better than you and I was a fool to call you a coward, I'm a coward myself, and I'm so sorry..." her voice was so unhappy. His heart constricted with compassion.

„No, you were right, I _was_ a coward. You don't have to apologize for anyth..."

„No, you must _listen_ to me! Listen, Galen, I did something..." She let her hands fall to her side, turned away. When she spoke again, her voice was just a whisper.

„... I went to put them down, as I was told, and I told myself it was only right, that it had to be me, because I had been responsible for them. And Peet, he said... he said... _but I didn_ _'_ _t_ do _anything, this is murder..._ and it _was_ , Galen, it was murder, and I had _volunteered..._ _"_

And now she was crying, gulping heavily around the words.

„... and Alan, he said, don't do this, let someone else do it, or it will haunt you for the rest of your life, but I didn't let someone else do it because what difference would it have made? I'd still have been the one to send them, to let them take my place, it wouldn't have made any difference..."

They stood there in the middle of the darkening road, and for a while, the only sounds were the chirping of insects and Zana's laboured breaths. She held up a hand when he started to move towards her, not yet through with her confession.

„... and I dropped the syringes. And then I went back to draw up two new ones and there was still the other bottle standing on the table, you see, the anaesthetic we use for the lab animals when we do surgery on them."

Galen stood and listened, a sense of foreboding growing inside him.

„And, and, I took that one, and I took a smaller dose, and before I left I had Toluq turn them around so that they wouldn't choke on their tongues... I told him this way it would be easier for me to break them open for dissection... he's a Gorilla, he wouldn't know it was nonsense..."

She finally turned to face him, then. „They probably died all the same, from hypothermia, or someone turned them on their back again, or their hearts just stopped, or... but I have to know, Galen, I have to know. And if they're still alive..."

Galen held his head with both hands, trying to steady the dizziness that had settled in it.

„Yes, Zana, what if they're still alive? What _if_ they are still alive? How are you going to keep that a secret?" He grabbed her shoulders, hard. „Can you imagine what will happen to your career, to _you_ , if this ever gets out?"

Zana didn't budge. „I'll tell everyone they've already been cremated. I'll fill out all the paperwork. Nobody will suspect anything!" She shrugged off his hands. „I have to do this, Galen, or it _will_ haunt me for the rest of my life! I understand if you want no part in it," she added sadly.

Galen sighed and shook his head. „Well, perhaps it _could_ work - Urko had checked on them before I arrived there, so you have _his_ word that they're dead, too..."

„Urko!" Zana recoiled with alarm. „We need to go there right now! I don't want to imagine what he could have done to them, completely helpless as they are..." She grabbed his hand and dragged him downhill. His feet screamed in protest.

„But there's nobody there anymore!"

She didn't even turn her head. „All the better, then we won't be disturbed!"

* * *

Old Yalu had a nice house in the better part of town, and Urko would bet his best rifle that he also had at least one very nice house in the country. Since he had been appointed to the council, Urko had been able to buy a decent house for Elta and the kids, but he'd never dream of indulging in the kind of upper crust extravagance that the soft-bellied senators were so proud of. He grunted with disgust. You could only sleep in one bed at a time, eat from one table at a time, and wear one pair of boots at a time. Who in the world needed _two_ houses?

Urko sent one of his men around the back before he knocked politely at the heavy door. He run his tongue over his teeth as if getting rid of a bad taste in his mouth, anticipating the ugly human face he'd have to look at in a moment; but to his surprise, the old chimp himself opened the door, still in his rumpled morning robe. Urko cast a quick glance to the Western horizon; the sun was already hurrying towards the trees.

Hm.

„Good aft'noon, senator," he said amiably. „Care to let us in, before the old lady falls out of her window? I doubt she'd survive the impact; not from the third floor."

The senator blinked at him before his gaze flicked up to the grandma who did her best to look busy with her flowerpots. He frowned at Urko's men waiting silently behind him, but apparently decided that whatever misunderstanding had brought them to his doorstep was best cleared up in the privacy of his living room, because he opened the door wide without a word.

Urko sauntered in with a smile. „Thank you."

His men dispersed at once, calls of „Clear!" - „Clear!" sounding from every room on the ground floor.

„What in the world are you doing here, Urko?" Yalu finally growled, while heavy boots were trampling up the stairs. From the kitchen came a scream. One of his men had found a human. „What do you want from me? I swear, if this is a mix-up, you'll be in so much trouble..."

„Here." Urko held out the warrants without bothering to look at the chimp. He was studying the china that was displayed in a wooden cabinet. Elta would like something like that, too. Something to score with the other ladies.

„Arrest? 'Possession of contraband'? _Galen?_ _"_ Yalu rounded him and obscured his view of the dainty teacups. „That is ridiculous!" He tossed the search and arrest warrants towards Urko, who made no move to catch them. The papers fluttered to the floor.

„Are you suggesting that Zaius is trying to fuck you over?" Urko asked mildly. Yalu winced at his choice of words.

„No, of course not! This is, this must be a misunderstanding! Nothing that can't be sorted out, I'm sure. I'll talk to him immediately." The Chimp made a half-turn as if he'd change robes and hurry to the council house right away. Urko didn't bother to hide his grin.

„Ah yes, you and him are old friends, right? Well, I'm afraid Zaius is under a bit of pressure from the council right now over that human business. I doubt he'll have much wiggle room in this matter." He clucked his tongue in mock concern.

„Stealing dangerous books from Zaius' private rooms - what was that boy thinking? That's what you get from buying them lads out of draft - a year under the boot of some old Chimp sergeant would've screwed his head on right."

 _Now that rich baby is getting his head screwed_ off, _and doesn_ _'_ _t that serve you pampered buggers right?_

He leaned down to Yalu in false confidentiality. „You know, hiding or helping an enemy of the state could get not just you arrested, but also that lovely lady of yours. We don't want that, do we? Or lose that nice china and everything else... that would also greatly distress her. I'm married, too, I know how the ladies tick."

„I don't remember opening our house for military training maneuvers, Yalu, darling. Is there something you forgot to tell me?"

Ann was standing in the living room, regal and unflappable as ever. Her human was peeking over her shoulder with huge, frightened eyes. Urko smiled and gave Ann a polite salute.

„Nothing you need to worry about, ma'am. Just a routine operation. We're looking for a criminal on the run. Your husband has assured us of his full cooperation in the matter, haven't you, sir?"

Ann raised a brow. „A criminal on the run? And that needs the head of the police to take care of?"

Sharp as a knife, that lady; and also the only one not being mean to Elta, or so his wife had told him. For that alone, he'd spare her the embarrassment. Let the old leather bag deal with that, in private.

„It's a special case, ma'am. But we're already finished here. Have a nice day." He nodded to her on his way out. Her eyes told him that she wasn't fooled, which made him smile again. How Yalu had ended up with such a fine lady escaped him. Well, he didn't deserve Elta, either. Perhaps that's how it always was.

Outside, he sent Levan on guard duty, and Pelam to get backup from the nearest watchhouse. „If any of those slaves is sent out to warn the lad, I want him tracked. If the lad returns, arrest him."

He took the rest of them to Zana's place.

The silly girl had fled from her workplace after she had to put down her pets and was probably crying into her pillows right now - if Galen wasn't consoling her; Urko hoped he was. That's what a good boyfriend did, right? It would be like picking peaches, easy and so rewarding.

But neither of them were there. The old Orangutan who said he was Zana's father (this caused momentary confusion among the men, until Urko growled something about adoption) sent them to the market, claiming that she might seek distraction after her disastrous morning.

„All right, people, so we know where she isn't," Urko said after the door had closed in his face. „That leaves just the rest of the city for us to search." He rubbed his chin for a moment, deep in thought.

„Prem," he turned to his second in command, „I heard you're quite the charmer, aren't you?" The rest of the troupe sniggered at Prem's wary expression.

„That he is, sir, with da girls _and_ da boys!" someone shouted from the safety of anonymity. Urko chuckled with the rest of them at Prem's frown. The Chimp shrugged and grinned, too.

„Fine. You'll put your talents to good use and ask around at the doctor's place where she'd usually go for lunch, or after work. Favourite spots to hang out, that sort of thing. Pretend you want to ask her out or something.

„Sooner or later, they'll have to resurface. And we'll be there when that happens."


	9. Chapter 9

It was too dark to see anything, so Zana felt for the lock with her fingers. Behind her, Galen shifted nervously.

„What do we tell the night guard if he turns the corner right now?" he whispered.

They had snuck into the building and down into the basement without a sign of the old ape being around anywhere. Zana suspected that he spent most of his shift snoring in his office, which made his appearances quite unpredictable. If they had come across him on the ground floor, she'd have easily bluffed her way past him, claiming to have forgotten some thing or the other in her office.

Now, down here in front of the door to the laboratory, Galen with an armful of blankets from the kennels at her heels, it would be a wee bit more difficult to come up with a credible story.

She just had to hope he _wouldn_ _'_ _t_ turn the corner just now.

The key finally found its hole and she quickly unlocked the door to let them in. The air inside smelled of stale urine.

„Are you sure you didn't give them too much of your anaesthetic?" she heard Galen's voice in the darkness. „If they have emptied their bladders..."

Galen had studied medicine for a while, Zana remembered as she felt around for the lantern hanging somewhere near the door. The lab didn't have windows, so they could make light without fear of detection. She switched the gas on and held the flamestick against the mantle.

„The staff may have squeezed them out in preparation for the obduction. It's not nice to cut into a full bladder." Or perhaps one of them had lost control of their bladder when she gave them the injection. She didn't remember... she hadn't really paid attention then.

Or Galen was right and they had died.

But then they'd have relaxed their bowels, too, and she didn't smell that. They weren't dead. They couldn't be!

In the pale, bright light of the lantern, the bodies were just indistinct bulks on the tables, hidden under leather covers - to keep the flies away; but they would also have captured at least some of the humans' body heat. Perhaps they had been lucky, and not slipped into a coma from hypothermia...

Her breath suddenly came easy, for the first time since she had left Zaius' office this morning, when she found a pulse on Alan, then on Peet. She leaned against the table for a moment, trembling with relief. They were alive. They were _both_ alive, though still unconscious and too cool, much too cool. She wiped away the spittle that had collected under Peet's cheek.

„Help me wrap the blankets around them."

Their Chimp strength came in handy now. Galen helped her to open the straps and carry the men to the wall where they carefully laid them on their sides.

„Have you assisted in a surgery during your studies?" she asked.

Galen shook his head. „I'm afraid I never got beyond the theoretical part."

„Their circulation is down from the anaesthetic, and the cold. Rub their limbs and backs as strongly as you can. I'll be back in a minute."

She returned as promised, carrying some hot bricks in a blanket.

„The animal attendants have a fire burning in the stove at all times, for hot water," Zana explained while she wrapped the bricks into some leftover blankets. „I just needed to put fresh wood on the embers. This will speed up their recovery." She put the stones under the men's feet and along their backs; then she stood up again. „I'll be right back."

„I'm beginning to see what kind of help you needed me for," Galen gasped, who alternated between Alan and Peet, rubbing their arms and legs.

When she came back this time, she carried a pot and two mugs. „Hot broth from their kitchen," she answered Galen's unspoken question. „It's a good thing they don't lock it, because I don't have the keys to the zookeepers' rooms." She joined Galen on the floor and began to rub Peet's limbs.

It seemed to take forever; Zana had to go back and reheat the broth, twice, and had already begun to worry that the humans had slipped into a coma from which they wouldn't wake up again. In that case, it would be the decent thing to really go through with the euthanasia...

... and then Peet opened his eyes.

It was more that his eyelids fluttered for a moment. But after another moment, they opened again and he stared through her, pupils huge and unfocused.

„Peet is back," she told Galen, relieved and excited.

„Alan here is coming around, too," he reported a short while later.

Peet was moving his arms, clumsy and uncoordinated, and it took her a moment to realize what he was trying to do. Zana helped him to sit up and lean against the wall. His eyes were still focusing and unfocusing, but he seemed to recognize her, because he snarled.

Zana swallowed and tried not to feel rejected. She wouldn't be too gracious, either, if the face of her executioner was hovering above her. She put the mug to his lips and made him drink a bit of broth, careful not to make him choke. Then she made him drink some more.

Finally, she wrapped his hands around the hot mug. „Drink this, it will help you get warm and wake up. That's right, just a sip... that's good. Take it slow, so that you don't throw up." She squeezed another hot stone between the wall and his back and went over to Alan, who was already sipping from his own mug. He was squinting up at her, his usual smile gone from his pale and bruised face, and she noticed that he was still trembling with cold.

She put another blanket over his shoulders and went to reheat the bricks.

An hour or so went by in silence; only Galen was shifting nervously as the night got longer and longer. Zana knew what he was thinking; by tomorrow, the humans had to be well beyond the city walls, and she had to have the paperwork ready. Still, it was no use hurrying them; the body needed its own time to recover.

„Why we still here?" Peet's rough voice finally broke the silence.

 _Because I couldn_ _'_ _t do it. Because I'm weak. Because I'd rather risk your kind to come and find you, and destroy us, than kill you in cold blood. Because I'm neither a soldier, nor a politician. I'm unable to make the hard decisions... or obey those who can make them._

„I didn't want to be a murderer," she said softly.

Peet just nodded and took another sip from his broth.

„It's gone."

When she looked up, Alan's hand was at his throat. He looked stricken. „The necklace... it's gone. Again."

„It's probably back at Zaius' study," Galen said in his soft voice. „Urko took it, I think."

Peet made a brittle sound. It was a laugh, Zana realized belatedly.

„Back at the beginning. All that shit for nothing." He sounded bitter.

„Not quite back at the beginning," Galen objected gently. „You need to get out of the city now; Zana will pretend you've been cremated. The upside is that nobody will go looking for you, since you'll be officially dead."

„And go where?" Peet's voice was hoarse, whether from the anaesthetic or despair, she couldn't say.

„There's strays' territory in the West." At their questioning looks, Galen explained. „Strays are escaped humans, hiding in the wilderness. Our world isn't very densely populated; if you can reach the badlands, you will be safe. Well,... relatively safe."

„Sounds good." - „We need the data disc first."

„Jesus Christ, Alan!" Peet exploded. It was the first time Zana saw him openly oppose Alan, who she assumed outranked him in whatever hierarchy the humans had established among themselves. „Come off that pipe dream already! Look around you, they're still using gas lamps!"

Zana tried to decide if she should feel offended on behalf of the lamp, when he continued, „They're still in the, what, nineteenth century? Where do you think you'll find someone with a computer that can read out that stuff? And even if they could, they'd never be able to build another _Icarus_. That thing was state of the art, top level innovation stuff on _our_ world!"

She glanced at Alan, whose jaw had set in a stubborn expression that she knew all too well from her own father. „I'm not going anywhere without it."

Peet let his head fall against the wall with a groan. „When will you finally forget about that thing?"

„When I see my family again." Alan was unmoved.

„Well..." Galen began hesitantly, „We'll need to go by the council anyway. They'll need papers," he explained to Zana when everyone turned to stare at him. „And I have the keys to Zaius' office. They'll have the city seal and everything..." He buried his face in his hands. „What am I doing?"

Peet's lips twitched. „Groveling before your girlfriend. Happens to the best of us."

„Fine, let's go." Alan put his mug down.

„Umm... clothes first?" Peet gestured at himself. „Unless you want to stroll down main street in the nude."

„I don't have the keys to the clothes' storage," Zana apologized. „And I hadn't thought to bring some. When I heard that Urko was down here, I just..." she sighed.

„My father has humans. We can get everything from there," Galen suggested. „Not just clothes - food, water bottles..." His sigh echoed Zana's. „Not that I had planned on going back there..." he murmured.

„So how _do_ we get there?" Peet repeated. „Still in the nude?"

„We'll take the back alleys..."

„... so they have back alleys, Pete, I was right after all..."

„... and you'll have to use the blankets, Peet, like you did when we first met. It's only for a little while," Zana said encouragingly.

„Okay then." Peet tried to get up, but fell to his knees again, still dazed from the drug.

„Whoa, easy there, Pete." Alan was slowly getting to his feet with Galen's help. „Take it slow."

„We don't have all night, Al - if Zana here wants to fake our death certificates, we need to leg it, pronto." Peet grabbed the table and pulled himself up. His knees were wobbling.

„Walking in fresh air will get your circulation up in no time," Zana assured him while she slung a blanket around his waist. She wasn't at all prepared when he put a finger under her chin and tilted her face up. She blinked at him; except for the one time during the hearing, he had never deliberately touched her before, and if he had, she wouldn't have expected it to be so gentle.

„Hey." His voice was still rough. „That was... damn kind of you. An' brave."

She breathed a trembling sigh. „No, Peet. I wish I was kind and brave, but I'm a terrible coward. I was just... too soft to go through with it. I like you too much."

„Yeah, well, I can live with that, too." He smiled down at her. „I still think you're one of the good ones."

She looked away and pulled the knot tight. „You're too kind."

„'k, so I'm kind, too. Let's just say then all assembled here are white hats."

„... I don't understand." This was one of his irritating contextual idioms again.

She had so missed them.

He winked at her. „Never mind."

* * *

Burke had a strong sense of dejà vu, sneaking through the bushes of the apes' city at night. Well, this time they had local guides, so perhaps they wouldn't run afoul of one of the ape patrols. There were quite a lot of them in the streets, he noticed. More than last time. Al nodded in agreement when he pointed it out, so it wasn't just his imagination.

Well, they couldn't be looking for them, right? They were dead, their bodies cooling out in the basement of that institute, ready to be gutted in the morning. His muscles tensed at that image.

But it certainly made getting to Galen's house way more difficult than it otherwise would have been. More than once, they had to retreat hastily into a dark archway or into the undergrowth when Zana, who went ahead, signaled another patrol coming their way by vigorously scratching her ear. The poor girl would be glowing in the dark by the time they finally reached their destination. It didn't stop Burke from scanning their surroundings - the patrols might not always come directly at them from the opposite direction.

That's how he spotted the one hiding in the undergrowth opposite Galen's house. He threw out his arm against Galen's chest to stop him from bumbling on towards the main gate, and pulled Zana back into the darkness with his other hand. Luckily, both had enough sense not to make a sound. Their eyes shimmered in the faint light of the lanterns burning at both sides of the entrance when they looked at him in askance. Burke pointed.

„Is he watching our gate?" Galen breathed.

„Looks like," Burke whispered back. To his surprise, Galen didn't wonder about the reason.

„How do we get inside now?"

„Does your house have a back entrance?" Alan whispered.

„Yes, but from where he stands, he can see both doors."

Burke left their war council and went back a stretch of of the way, before he crossed the road and crept towards the guard through the bushes. His makeshift clothes (a kind of hakama and a poncho made from the blankets) swished and snagged on the twigs, so he shrugged them off. Now completely naked, his movement was nearly soundless as he glided through the vegetation. He just wished he had his knife with him; on the other hand, perhaps it was better not to kill the ape. A dead ape in front of Galen's home would just spell trouble for the family.

Well, more trouble than they apparently were in anyway.

He still couldn't vouch for the ape's skull as he knocked him out with a rock, but then again, he wasn't _that_ concerned about the guard's health. The rest of his team hurried over to him and Galen let them in through the back door. Zana gave him a strange look as she passed him; she had seen him naked before, and it hadn't bothered her any more than the sight of a horse without a tutu would have bothered him, so he assumed it was his display of violence against one of her own that had disturbed her.

He shrugged inwardly; she couldn't expect that he'd swoon the guard with his good looks and rakish smile, right?

The house was deserted except for the human slaves that peeked around the corner until Galen sent them back to their cots; he showed Zana the kitchen and vanished to find some clothes for them.

Zana brought some bread and cold meat and they all ate in silence. Burke hadn't realized how hungry he was; the broth had been good, but his stomach was already empty again. He felt Zana watching him and tried to slow down. He couldn't remember if she had ever been around at feeding time. Was she just fascinated at the speed with which he wolfed down his food, or was she still regarding him like an escaped predator?

Galen returned with a bundle of clothes and they spent the next few minutes sorting through them until they found pieces fitting in size. The cloth was coarsely woven, but rubbed smooth from long use; Burke settled for a blue shirt and light brown trousers. Virdon had snagged a leather vest to wear over a reddish shirt. „Very fashionable, Al," Burke grinned, „now you just need a hat."

Galen had also brought shoes, for which Burke was really thankful; the thought of running cross country on naked feet had been worrying him ever since their first jailbreak. Step into a thorn or cut your foot on a sharp rock, and you're done for. For a life on the run, your feet were your most important body parts.

„So," Burke said while stepping into his pants, „what did your old man do to get so much loving attention from Urko's henchmen?"

„He sired me," Galen muttered. The men exchanged a surprised look.

„Whatcha saying, Galen?" Burke tried to be casual, „Stepped on somebody's toes?"

In response, Galen pulled a leather-bound book from his bag and dropped it onto the table with a thump. For a moment, everyone stared at it; then Zana moved over and turned the cover. She inhaled sharply. „Oh, Galen..."

Burke frowned. „What's that? Galilei's _Revolutions?"_   He noticed Virdon's look. „What? I went to school, too, you know?"

Zana sighed and closed the book. „It's a forbidden book, that much I can tell. Where did you get it from, Galen?"

„I found it in Zaius' private study, when I went to find Alan's necklace."

„But why did you take it with you?" Zana sounded at once incredulous and panicked.

Galen shrugged helplessly. „I started reading it in his study and I couldn't put it down. Everything they taught us at school is a lie, Zana!" He began to pace the room. „I'm used to my father lying to me, and the senators lying to each other, _all the time,_ but at least there everyone knows that they're being lied to. This," he waved at the book that lay innocently on the table, „this is much worse. It's a lie nobody knows of. Except for Zaius, it seems, and perhaps some inner circle in the council."

„But now they're chasing you, Galen, and when they catch you, they'll convict you for heresy, or treason, or some other made-up crime," Zana cried, „and they'll hang you for it! You'll never get an opportunity to tell anyone the truth, and the book will vanish into Zaius' study again. It wasn't worth it, just to satisfy your curiosity!"

„We draw a line, and when it gets crossed, we shrink back, and then we stop drawing lines at all," Galen said softly. It sounded as if he was quoting someone. „I knew about the consequences when I took it, but I couldn't just walk away from the truth. I just didn't think they'd find out so quickly." His fingers brushed over the dark leather.

„Well, we better get going," Burke broke the silence. „Since Galen here needs to fake some papers for himself, too. - What?" He turned up his palms at their stares. „You aren't just going to sit here and wait for the butcher, are you, Galen? You need to get the hell outta Dodge." He grinned. „At least we'll have a local to guide us and point out the sights and the fancy restaurants." He began to stuff bread, cheese and dried fruit into his backpack. „Do you have flint and steel somewhere?"

Galen watched him, frowning. „I'm not coming with you." He held up a hand when they started to protest. „Everyone thinks you're dead. If they find you in my company, and see that you're still alive, they'll know Zana disobeyed and lied to them! I'm not going to put her life in danger like that!"

Burke drew his upper lip between his teeth. The ape had a point; they'd probably hang the doc for treason - that would be a bad way to pay her back for saving their lives.

„But where will you go?" Virdon finally said. „You won't find asylum with other ape settlements, at least not in this area, so your only logical route of escape is into those badlands you mentioned earlier. And if I recall correctly, Urko raided them badly some time ago, so they'll probably kill you on the spot if you turn up there by yourself."

„He's right," Burke agreed. „It's your only viable option, and since we're headed the same way, you can as well come with us. Be realistic, you'd run smack into their next patrol - you'd already have, if I hadn't stopped you out there."

„I just told you, if they find us together..."

„Then you better listen to Peet when he discovers them well before you do," Zana said abruptly. „Do you think I'll sleep lightly knowing that I'll have to witness your execution one of these days? With Alan and Peet, I'll at least have the hope that you're safe somewhere, even... even if I'll never see you again." The truth of that fact seemed to suddenly dawn on her, because she turned away.

Virdon took Burke by the elbow. „Let's see what supplies we can find in the kitchen," he murmured. With a last glance towards the apes who were now hugging each other, Burke followed him.

„Do you really still want to go looking for that disc?" he asked his commander while they quickly opened and closed the cupboards. He discovered a roll of cord and put it in his bag.

„Sure." Virdon had found a tinderbox and weighed a package of tobacco in his hand. Burke raised a brow.

„Didn't know you were a smoker, Al."

Virdon put the package down; he kept the tinder, though. „I just thought we could use it for bargaining..."

„Excellent idea." Burke snatched the tobacco and put it into his backpack. „So, about that disc..."

„We all need papers, especially Galen, so we'll be there anyway. We can go looking for it while he forges those documents." Virdon sighed and rubbed his neck. „If... if we don't find it during that time," he said reluctantly, „we'll leave and I won't mention it again. I won't delay us because of it."

„Okay." It was a big sacrifice for him, Burke knew.

 _„_ _Are you out of your mind?"_

„That doesn't sound like a tearful goodbye to me," Burke remarked. Virdon just sighed and went back into the living room.

Galen turned to them for support. „Please talk some sense into her! She wants to go to the council house with us!"

At Virdon's silent prompt - apparently he was now the go-to guy for Zana - Burke took her by the shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes. „Galen's right, Zana - it'll be safer for you to go home and deny you ever saw us... him. They'll have you for interrogation anyway, so the less you know, the less you can tell them." Even under... they wouldn't use force on her, would they? He shook off that thought. „You can't help him with the papers like he was able to help you with us in the basement, and you'd just put yourself in danger - for what?"

She gently laid her hands on his arms. „Don't you understand, Peet? Galen was the man I had hoped to spend my life with. Now I'll never see him again. Do you think I'll give up a single moment of this last night in my life with him?" Her eyes shone, but she didn't cry; she just pulled down his hands from her shoulders and straightened.

He turned to Galen. „Sorry, pal, I did what I could; it's her life, and if she wants to put it on the line for you, that's her right and her decision."

Galen gaped at him, incredulous that he'd give up so easily; damn, could it be that he knew her better than her boyfriend did? She wouldn't budge, and they'd only lose precious time trying to sway her. Burke strapped on his backpack.

„If we're caught, you're done for, too," he gave her a last warning. Zana just raised her chin.

„Then you should take care that we don't get caught again. Because this time, I won't be able to fake your deaths."

* * *

It was easier to get to the council house this time - probably because the patrols were searching for one or two apes, not a group of four people, and because the civilians didn't look twice at humans out after dark when they were with their masters.

They still kept mostly to the back alleys, because nobody wanted to risk stumbling into Urko himself, who didn't have enough imagination to distrust his eyes - he'd have recognized the humans at once, never mind that he had seen their corpses some mere hours ago.

„There's a night guard in the building, and he's not some bumbling old idiot like the one at Zana's," Burke whispered when Galen unlocked the front door. If they were detected again, they'd have to attack... something they weren't equipped to do. Burke fervently wished for a gun.

They tiptoed up the stairs, eyes and ears strained for the guard's steps, or a sliver of light from his shuttered lamp. Sneaky bastard - who thought of haunting a building in utter darkness like a ghost? Burke only dared to breathe freely again after Galen had locked them safely into Zaius' office. He shrugged off his own vest and stuffed the gap between door and floor with it, so that no light would fall into the corridor.

When he straightened, Galen had already hurried to the massive desk and was pulling out drawers in the darkness. Burke wondered how he was going to forge their papers without using a light - they couldn't light a lamp, as he saw now that the windows didn't have shutters.

His unspoken question was answered a moment later when Galen carried his supplies into the back of the room, where another door was hidden in the shadows. The room beyond it had no windows, and when Galen lit a lamp and closed that second door, Burke saw why.

So this was Zaius' innermost sanctuary. The secret room with forbidden books and forbidden human weaponry. Yeah, if he were Zaius, he wouldn't want to have the ape from the neighbouring house looking into this room while she was hanging out the laundry, either...

As he slowly walked along the shelves, an uneasy feeling began to spread in his gut. The stuff on the shelves looked old - as if it had been buried in the ground for decades... or even longer. It just wasn't what you expected to find on a _historical_ site: not some pot shards or longswords, but a wheel rim. Or a fork. Or a...

„Al, look!" He held it up and laughed, incredulous. „A _coffee machine?_ _"_

Where the hell had they found that stuff? And what had happened to that civilisation?

He turned to Galen, who was kneeling on the floor, scribbling. „All that stuff is human-made?"

„Yes," Galen murmured without lifting his gaze. „Zaius collects all human artifacts from archaeological sites. Nothing human-made ever reaches the museums or is described in the journals. As far as the public knows, it doesn't exist."

„Heaven forbid somebody could get the wrong ideas about humans," Burke murmured and put the thing back on the shelf. Coffee machines were a twentieth century invention; had this universe had a different evolution? He suppressed the faint stirring of an alternative explanation - it had to be a parallel universe, one with a completely screwed-up history.

He took a deep breath. „Have you found your stuff?" The sooner they got out of this room, the better. It made his neck itch.

„I found it!" Virdon reached into another shelf, relief in his voice and his face. He smiled at Burke. „And the disc, too - it's all here."

„Well, thank _god!_ _"_ Burke murmured. Finally that obsession could be laid to rest, at least until Al started obsessing over the computer that he'd need to read it out...

„We should see if we can find a map somewhere," Virdon said, pocketing the damn thing. He vanished between the shelves, and Burke shrugged and resumed wandering down the aisles.

At the far end of the room was the little library of doom that had cost Galen his comfortable upper class life. Burke cocked his head and read the titles. Well, stared at paw prints, mostly. With one notable exception: _Atlas of Surgical Operations._

Burke blinked. For a long moment he just stood there, staring at the letters.

He could read the title. It was in latin script, plain English.

He rubbed his lips. The thing had its title written in _friggin_ _'_ _English._

With a quick glance over his shoulder, he opened the glass door and took it out. It was heavy, a real door-stopper. Tearing his upper lip between his teeth, he opened it and scanned for the publication date.

November 2010.

November Twenty Ten.

The thing looked old, the paper fragile and yellow. He didn't want to think about the implications...

But he didn't have to - the meaning stood out in one white-hot flash of realization.

This wasn't some parallel universe. No other universe would have developed the same English language, the same publishing houses, and then buried them under centuries of loam and rock.

No, this was the same world. _Their own_ world. Just... some time later. He felt his abs beginning to tremble, a strange sensation. So that's what 'shaken to the core' felt like?

_Eh, no. Apes taking over from us? Not in a million years!_

He had said that, hadn't he? But what if it had been a million years?

His palms were sweaty against the cover; he softly closed the book and put it back. How in the world was he going to tell Alan? The man had looked so hopeful just now, with that stupid disc in his hand...

... he'd just ignore all that for now. He just couldn't deal with that shit on top of running for his life from crazy apes.

„Pete? C'mere, we're ready to go."

„Did you find a map?" He stopped at a shelf. _Hello, darling... you look lonely, all by yourself..._

„Yes. Now come on, what are you doing back there?"

Burke rounded the shelf and smiled innocently at them. „Just admiring the exhibits. We'll be the only visitors for a long time, I guess."

Galen handed him a letter. „This is your identification - I kept your name, it's easier to remember - and the name of your owner. That would be me." He shrugged apologetically at Burke's look. „I know you don't like it, Peet, but there really is no way for a human to be wandering all by itself, unless it's a stray, and for that you'd need a weapon and the badlands to hide in."

Burke slowly folded the paper and frowned. „Does that mean I have to call you 'master'?"

„I'm afraid so. But only around other apes. Oh, and... I changed my name to Yuma. It would probably be better if you also called me that in private. So that I get used to it, too." Galen's smile was a bit strained, but his voice was as soft and unconcerned as always.

„Yuma, eh? I think I'll stick with Galen. I like that name better." He put the paper into the leather pouch at his hip. His pants didn't have pockets. „How do we get out of the city? Aren't the gates closed for the night?"

„There are little doors in the uphill wall..." Zana began, but everyone shook their head, including Galen.

„Urko would know to have them watched - he probably thinks Galen has gotten wind of his arrest warrant by now and is trying to escape," Virdon explained.

„So we'll have to wait until morning, when the gates are opened. Since Galen here has brand new papers, a certain chimp named Yuma and his two servants will stroll through the main gate without anyone batting an eye." Burke smiled. „After all, they're looking for one lonely chimp, not two dead humans and an ape."

They took care to erase all traces of their presence, Galen hesitating over the desk for a moment, and slipped out of the council house as the sky began to incrementally gray out. They crawled into a thicket that seemed dense enough to hide them from searching eyes, and waited for the gates to open. Galen and Zana sat arm in arm, whispering to each other. Virdon was dangling the necklace before his face, his eyes thoughtful.

Burke tried to find a position for his head where the contents of his backpack didn't poke him in the neck through the leather. Wouldn't hurt to rest his eyes a little before the fun started.

Because he didn't believe for a second that they'd get out of here without a hitch.


	10. Chapter 10

Pete seemed to be the only one of their group who had been able to sleep, blanket drawn over his face to keep out the light that was already creeping over the horizon. Galen and Zana were huddled together, soaking up each other's presence while they still could.

Virdon knew exactly how they felt. Galen couldn't even nurse the hope of returning to his love one day, that tiny, desperate hope he himself was clinging to.

He leaned forward and touched Galen's arm. „We should get going."

He had no idea when a normal ape workday began, but he wanted to try their luck before someone discovered that they were missing from the makeshift morgue. Zana hadn't gotten around to writing their death certificates - after Galen's revelation last night, the humans were probably the least of her concerns. Virdon couldn't really fault her for it, but it made getting out of the city even more urgent.

He shook Pete awake while Galen whispered to a sleep-drunk Zana who had dozed off on his shoulder. They crawled out of the underbrush and shook leaves and grass out of their clothes.

Zana reached up and plucked a twig out of Virdon's hair. „We need something to cover it," she said, worried. „It's just too unusual a color. You won't stand out so much anymore once you're farther to the North - the people there, umm... have humans with unusual coloring, I heard. Reddish ones, and some with dark skin, too. Do you think it's safe to wait here for a moment?"

She came back about five minutes later with a straw hat. Pete snorted with laughter. „Told you you need a hat to complement that vest!"

Virdon flopped it on his head and smiled. It did cover his hair, and the rim partly concealed his face, so he couldn't complain. Besides, it was a nice protection against the sun.

They started off, the apes leading the way, the humans with their backpacks trotting behind them, heads down like obedient servants - and also to hide their faces as much as possible. Virdon's hat provided him with more cover, allowing him to surreptitiously scan their surroundings.

Apes were already milling about in the streets: children with school bags running in small packs, telling each other the latest news at the top of their lungs; farmers bringing their goods to the market - some driving carts, some directing heavily packed humans; young wives and regal matrons, their baskets still empty, on their way to meet those farmers down at the market; young apes in formal robes, maybe lawyers, maybe office workers like Galen had been, deep in conversation and totally oblivious to their surroundings, expecting everyone to step aside to avoid collision.

Nobody spared them a second glance - they were just another couple on their way to somewhere, their servants in tow. Virdon doubted that he and Pete even registered for many of them; as soon as a human was in his appropriate place - that is, following his master - he ceased to exist as a distinct being. Today, he didn't at all mind being invisible in that fashion.

That wasn't true for the patrols they were passing, though - he felt their sharp glances scanning their group. But they were on the lookout for one ape, or two, not a group of four. There was no reason to think Galen had suddenly acquired a couple of humans, so they didn't match the search parameters.

Yet. This would only keep as long as the relief for the knocked out guard wasn't due, as long as nobody opened the door to the institute's lab, or checked the shelves in Zaius' study... He resisted the urge to hurry; he'd only bump into Galen, who wisely kept their pace at the same level as everybody else's. As long as they were a part of that leisurely weave of people, maybe...

„Your papers, please, sir." Three soldiers were blocking their path, their movements deceptively slow and relaxed.

Well. It had been nice as long as it lasted.

„Oh... of course." Galen fumbled for his papers with shaking hands. He was too nervous, too inexperienced, to act in character; the normal reaction would have been irritation, and perhaps a question of what the heck was going on and why he was being stopped on his way to the market/office/doctor's appointment on a perfectly normal day like this. Maybe even topped off with some muttered remark about times and mores.

The leader was scanning Galen's faked papers with a frown, while his men had casually taken up position at Zana's side, and behind him and Pete; everybody was only a grab away now. Pete was worrying his upper lip and was studiosly staring down at his feet.

„How long will you stay in our city, Yuma?" The captain handed the papers back to Galen, who very obviously couldn't quite believe his luck.

_We need to work on your acting skills, son. If we ever get out of this cursed city._

„Oh, uh, another couple of days? Just for sightseeing, now that my business is complete. My wife wanted to visit the zoo..." Galen was babbling. Virdon bit his tongue.

_Don't provide him with so many openings for inquiry!_

The soldier's eyes rested on Zana. „Your wife, hm? Can I see _your_ papers, please, ma'am?"

_... or direct his attention to her._

From the corner of his eye, he saw Pete scratching his chin with his thumb.

Zana didn't have faked papers. She hadn't planned to run off with them, after all. And considering that she was probably on the list of wanted persons, simply because of her connection with Galen...

„I, ah, I think I left them in the lodging house," she stuttered. „I didn't think I'd need them today," she added, a bit indignantly. At least here there was some acting potential; too bad it wouldn't be of any use to her.

„That's too bad, ma'am." Their captor didn't sound apologetic. „Then I have to ask you to accompany my officer to the watch house while your husband procures your papers from your hostel."

The soldier who had shielded them from the curious looks of passersby or rather, from escaping the patrol, clasped his hand around Zana's arm and pulled her a step away from their group. She turned her head to face them, eyes huge.

„That's a good idea, officer." Her voice didn't betray her fear. She nodded to Galen, a silent good-bye. „Off you go then, darling - hurry up now, don't let me wait for so long." She made a little shooing motion with her hand when a dazed Galen didn't react.

Virdon knew he risked drawing attention to himself if he moved now, but someone had to break Galen's panic spell, or they'd all be doomed. So he leaned forward and murmured, „I think I remember where she put them, master. Shall we go?"

Galen's head jerked a bit, but then he turned around. „Yes... yes, let's go and get them. The sooner we return, the better..."

Virdon took care to keep his head down as they passed the captain. He could feel the ape's eyes on him; but he had no reason to stop him, had he? He was just a servant...

Hopefully, Zana wouldn't get in too much trouble. Could she go to jail for helping Galen? Judging by-

„Galen! Heya, Galen, old chap! Long time, no see, huh?"

Everybody froze. Virdon thought he heard a low moan from Galen. Or perhaps it had been Pete.

The captain stepped into their path again, unhurried. He gazed at the caller on the other side of the street, who was still smiling and waving at them.

„Do you know that man?"

Galen vigorously shook his head. „Absolutely not."

The soldier fixed him with a skeptical stare. „He seems to know _you._ _"_

„He, he must have confused me with someone else."

„Hm. Wait here." Everyone's eyes followed him as if hypnotized, as he strode over to the ape. Virdon heard Pete shift his backpack.

„Who's that guy?" Pete asked in a low voice.

„Old fellow from university," Galen murmured back.

„Doesn't seem to be the brightest candle in the chandelier."

Galen snorted despite his panic. „He's not... but his father is a lawyer and he's the only son."

„Ah."

Pete sharply sucked in his breath. That was the only warning Virdon needed.

He grabbed Galen and broke into a run. Behind him, he heard a crack and a muffled moan as Pete clocked Zana's guard, and the patter of feet as the two were racing after them. More shouts, as the captain and his guards took up pursuit.

Then a whistle shrilled.

Virdon could feel every hair on his body rise at that sound. He sped up, but Galen suddenly jerked at his arm, taking him off balance for a moment, yanking him hard left and down another street.

„To the market," he gasped. „Hide in the crowd..."

The street was sloping softly downward, and he could feel the weight of his backpack accelerating him so that he had to lengthen his strides; his feet hammered hard against the cobblestones and the bruises on his ribs began to wake up with a dull pain. His shoulder connected hard with that of another human and sent the man sprawling to the ground like a beetle; the peaches from the basket on his back spilled all over the street, and schoolchildren descended on them like a flock of crows. He heard their high-pitched screams behind him when they flew in all directions as the patrol rammed through.

Inspiration hit him, and he began to tear at the vendor's stalls in passing, succeeding in toppling one or two; he didn't dare to slow down to see if it made a difference. The market was packed, and they were weaving their way through the mass of people, or just shoving them aside. Toppling people was almost as effective as toppling carts, since they tended to grab the nearest person to keep themselves upright and brought them down with them, creating tangles of people that would hopefully slow the patrols down. He was careful not to do it too often... he didn't want to turn the crowd against him. For now, people were mostly confused and curious, slow to move out of the way of their pursuers. Their presence also prevented the soldiers from shooting at them.

But they didn't manage to shake them off. Already they were reaching the far end of the market, and the crowd was thinning out. Behind him, he could hear Zana wheezing for air. They wouldn't be able to keep this up for much longer...

„Weneed... to... lose 'em!" he gasped, and Galen nodded, made a hard right turn, and sprinted down another alley. Virdon let himself fall back and grabbed Zana under one arm, Pete already clasping the other; together, they sped up after Galen who led them deeper into the labyrinth of connected courtyards.

Each of these had several archways which led to other courtyards, and after a few moments, Virdon was completely lost. He had no sense of which direction they were moving in, or if they even had one - they might be going round in circles, as far as he could tell. He just hoped that Galen knew what he was doing, but he had to admit that if he did, it was almost as effective as losing a pursuer in the wilderness. They had purposefully avoided the parks; he shuddered involuntarily when he remembered why.

They had slowed down, ears strained for sounds of pursuit, while trying not to make a sound themselves. From somewhere, they could hear the slap of boots against stone, and the guttural sounds of commands, but it was impossible to discern distance or direction: the sound was broken and thrown back by many walls. Their hunters could be five courtyards away from them, or on the other side of the next archway.

Zana leaned against a wall, looking miserable; apes didn't blanch or blush, as far as Virdon could tell, but she did look sick from exertion. He felt sorry for her - she had underestimated what she would get herself into when she had insisted on staying with Galen as long as possible.

And now she was on record for helping Galen. That was... bad. Really bad. But there was no time now to hatch a new plan. They had to keep moving. He took her arm and nodded to Galen to lead the way once more.

They came out of the shadowy labyrinth all of a sudden, stepping into the bright light of a plaza that seemed to be mercifully devoid of soldiers. Virdon took a deep breath and righted his hat, while the apes tried to smooth their robes before they all stepped out into the open with an air of nonchalance-

Pete noticed them first, a dark mass jogging up from main street - Virdon could see the white mural of the institute at its far end - and they forced themselves to turn their backs on them without obvious hurry.

... and came face to face with a _second_ squad, making a beeline towards them. From the labyrinth behind them, footsteps announced that their pursuers had found their scent again.

 _„_ _Come on!"_

Pete yanked Zana forward, barging through the glass door of a little café. Virdon dashed after them, despair rushing down his chest like hot water. Incoherent thoughts lit up in his mind:

_... won't get me alive this time... if I die... not strapped to a table..._

* * *

Inside, pale faces turned towards them all at once, reminding Zana of the weird underwater creatures she had come across as a child; she had refused to go back into the water after that encounter.

The café - _their_ café, she realized with a sudden jolt, the one where she had met Galen for the first time - was packed with people, an incongruent sight like in a dream; it was much too early in the day for so many guests. She tried to ignore them, and the sense of irreality they induced in her, and pushed past Galen and the humans.

„This way." They would try to leave through the kitchen, into yet another back alley, and beyond that, take the little paths between houses, so small that they'd have to walk in a line... trying to slip through the cracks, like cockroaches...

She felt so tired. Hot, and thirsty, and tired, and _afraid..._

„Zana, isn't it?"

She looked up at the sound of a familiar voice. In the back of the room, an Orangutan rose from her seat, stepped around the apes - who were, she saw now, not only sitting on the chairs and benches, but also on the floor; wherever there was a free spot - and picked her way through the squatters towards her. Zana threw a hasty glance over her shoulder. The soldiers were already at the door. Galen and the humans were pushing against her, hurrying her towards the back.

„I'm afraid I don't have time, Zibaya," she said quickly. „I didn't mean to crash your brunch."

Zibaya had followed her gaze, and her eyes lit up with wry amusement. „Have you run afoul of the military-political complex?"

„I can literally feel the boot of the oppressive system on my neck," Zana said dryly as she opened the door to the kitchen. Of all times, _now_ she didn't feel in the mood for political philosophy!

To her surprise, the professor clapped her hands. „Citizens, you know what to do! We must help a sister in need! Look outside! The hideous face of the system is staring at us through the windows!"

At once, everyone linked arms with their neighbours, creating a huge tangle. Someone began to strum a guitar. Pete laughed, incredulous. „A _sit-in?_ I feel like I'm inside one of those historical documentaries they inflicted on us at school!"

He might find it hilarious, but Zana thought that the blockage could be very effective; it could at least provide them with precious moments needed to escape through the backdoor. Perhaps Pete had realized that, too, because he fell silent, a peculiar expression on his face.

Zibaya had followed them outside. „Here," she said and gave Zana her silk scarf. „It's not much, as far as masking your appearance goes, but it's better than nothing."

Zana took the cloth, a light, multicolored nothing that smelled of jasmine, and put it over her head. „Thank you so much for your help. You probably saved our lives."

Zibaya gave her a searching look, but what she saw apparently convinced her that Zana hadn't just used a tired figure of speech. „What have you gotten yourself into?" she wondered. Her gaze fell onto the humans. „You haven't joined the Human Rights Watch, have you?" Her voice made it clear that she regarded the efforts of that group as yet another example of bourgeois indulgence, a distraction from relevant activism for the sake of Gorillas and other oppressed apes.

„What? No. Galen has... gotten access to information the council wants to keep secret, and now they're out to arrest him!" She felt new panic rise up inside her. „They'll hang him for any number of made up crimes! We need to go _now,_ Ziba, there is no time..."

„Yes, indeed. Here, wait, I have something for you." The Orangutan pressed a paper slip into Galen's hand. „The people on that list are sympathetic to our cause. They will help you, if you can make it out of the city." She held his gaze for a moment. „If you _don_ _'_ _t_ make it out of the city, I expect you to destroy that list before it falls into their hands." She didn't need to explain who she meant by _they._ „Eat it, if you have to."

Everyone jumped at the sound of glass shattering from the other side of the corridor. Shouts erupted, still muffled by the door.

„We need to go. Thank you again, Zibaya." Zana could feel Galen's hands on her shoulders as he turned her towards the alley. She fell into a trot beside him, the scent of jasmine mixing with the sharp musk of the humans' sweat.

Her feet hurt. She was scared.

She had no idea how they'd ever get out of here.

* * *

Zana was sure that they had crossed this particular yard already... probably even more than once. At ground level, they were all no more than moist, shady enclosures that were only loved by the children who met there to play ball or hopscotch. At this point, she didn't pay much attention to anything but her aching chest and hammering heart. Perhaps she should have joined the humans' ball games, had she known that she would need to be in shape for running from the law.

A dark mass emerged from the archway - black uniforms, police, and her heart was suddenly hot in her chest. She whirled around, back to where they had come from,

... more guards in that archway, too.

She jerked away from that exit and stumbled back into the midst of their little lot, between Galen and the humans, who had clustered in the middle of the square. Their eyes were dull with resignation, and she scanned the last archway...

All exits were filled with dark uniforms.

Fear rose up from chest into throat.

She felt Galen take her hand, his palm as sweaty as hers, and wondered for a moment if he wanted to give or seek reassurance. Then he gently squeezed her hand, and she held on to it with all her might... as if he could pull her out of this nightmare like he had done once, long ago.

One of the uniforms separated from the dark mass clogging the passageways and stepped into the yard, followed by a handful of men that formed a loose ring around them. The sergeant hooked his thumbs into his belt and surveyed their group. His grin took on a... a somehow more _personal_ quality when his eyes fell on her, and her heart suddenly hammered hard against her ribs.

„Zana!" he cooed. „There you are! I've been looking for you all over town! I even had flowers for you..." sniggers erupted from the archways, „must've lost them somewhere, when you gave me that little chase." He came closer; uncomfortably close.

„Your colleagues told me about all your favourite little hangouts... and here we are! Such a nice and helpful bunch! Didn't think nothing of another man asking for you. Are you known for open relationships? 'Cause I'd like in, if you are." He smirked at Galen. „Are you sure you know what your little bitch is up to when you're not around, mate?"

Galen inhaled sharply as if to say something, but she hastily squeezed his hand to stay quiet and thankfully, he got her meaning. Now was not the time to prove to her he wasn't a coward! She should never have called him that...

The sergeant shrugged. „Won't matter anymore, right? Once we hang you out to dry, you'll be too shriveled up to satisfy her anyway." Now the yard was ringing with laughter. The ape bared his teeth and yanked her into a sudden embrace. Zana's hand slipped out of Galen's grip and she found herself squeezed against the man's leather vest, her face squashed against his collarbone.

„You'll be no good for the little lady, and isn't that a shame?" she heard his voice above her. „She's lucky to have me around, because I know how to make it good for the girls and the boys." He suddenly flipped her around so that her back was now pressed against him and jerked his pelvis against her backside, his breath hot against her ear. „What do you say we do it like the boys first, hmm? I think you'll like that, once you get used to it."

Of all the feelings flooding her, the most intense was shock - shock at the violence of her nausea, at the prickling sensation all over her body as fear rushed out from her heart into her limbs. But most of all, shock that her strongest reaction was neither fear nor revulsion, but _embarrassment_ \- that she was mortified to be treated like this in front of Galen, that he had seen, and wouldn't be able to forget, her disgrace.

She couldn't look at him. She couldn't look at any of them.

And then shame turned into fury. Zana dimly remembered what one of her instructors had said during her Community Work Year - that when she hit something, she shouldn't aim at her target, but the space behind it. You never hit _at_ something; you hit _through_ , she'd said.

_I want to break his ribs._

She imagined the space behind his ribs, the soft, bubbly sac of lung tissue that would bleed and bleed as the jagged edge of the broken bone ripped through it. She jerked around in her captor's arms, jamming her elbow back and up.

The guard grunted, but his vest cushioned the impact, dispersing the momentum. Zana hadn't taken his leather armour into account.

„Little firecracker," he murmured. „We'll have a lot of fun." To her horror, his hand slid downward, and

she stumbled as something crashed sideways into her, no, her tormentor, and suddenly people were struggling and grappling all around her and she stumbled backwards out of the tangle, her arms slung around herself. Alan was smashing his fist into the face of a soldier whose head jerked back so violently that she wondered for a split second if his neck had snapped

and something cracked, very loud, and everybody froze.

Galen emerged from the dark tangle on the ground, slowly, slowly...

He held a gun in his hand. Dropped it, all of a sudden, as if it had turned hot in his hand. It landed with a thump on the sergeant's torso, slipped and clattered onto the cobblestones.

The sergeant didn't move. Zana stared in horrified fascination at the blood seeping out from under his body. She couldn't see where he had been hit... the black color of the uniform obscured the stain. The irrelevant realization that this was probably the reason for the color choice settled in her head for a moment. So that you didn't see the blood stains. Strange what one could contemplate in such a situation...

„Are... are you alright?"

Zana tore her eyes away from the dead soldier with some effort and lifted her gaze to Galen. She opened her mouth, but found that she was at a loss for words. Was she alright?

„No, Atiba, she's not - thanks to you."

From the shadows under the balcony, another shape emerged, taller than the dead sergeant, and heavier. Zana knew that voice... knew it all too well.

Urko let his eyes wander over her friends; a strange light began to gleam in his eyes when they found the humans. It burned brighter still when looked at her again.

„Ah, well..." he said softly. „Let me correct that statement. She did it all to herself, after all."


	11. Chapter 11

The guards fell back to let Urko through, and fell back further, giving him the stage, and why not? All exits closed, no windows at the ground floor, and whoever might be on the balconies was smart enough to keep their mouths shut. It was, Burke thought bitterly, a perfect little arena.

Urko lifted the dead ape on his side with his boot, contemplated the pool of blood for a moment, and stepped over the corpse to clap Galen on the shoulder. The smaller ape stumbled, from the impact or surprise.

„Respect, Galen - I wouldn't have thought you'd have that in you," Urko said cordially. „Of course, murdering an officer in the performance of his duties will only add to your sentence."

„I didn't know that sexual harassment is part of an officer's duties," Galen said heatedly, then clapped his mouth shut all of a sudden. He looked dazed, as if overwhelmed by his own daring.

Urko snorted. „I didn't see any harassment happen, did any of you see anything?" Murmured dissent arose, nobody had seen anything. Urko turned to Galen, spreading his arms with an innocent smile. „If it's any consolation, it won't make a difference for your punishment - you'll hang for treason anyway. We can't hang you twice, can we? At least not so that you can appreciate it." His eyes sparkled with amusement.

„Oh, but perhaps we can hang you twice, in a way." He pointed to Zana. „Zana here... well, let's see. Helping an enemy of the state can warrant a death sentence if the case is grave enough, and seeing how she endangered the security of our citizens by defying a direct order," his eyes bored into Burke's, „I think her case is grave enough to have her hanged, too.

„Which means we can let you watch. I heard that's a bit like dying, too."

Burke felt a jolt of electricity firing through his gut. _Oh damn, Zana, I_ _'_ _m so sorry. You don't deserve that..._

The damn bastard was enjoying himself far too much. He was pointing at them as if counting them down for a game of hide and seek. „So let's see, how are we gonna line you up best? I'd say we'll start with the humans, so that little Zana here can learn how it's done right. You know, the most effective way is to hang them up by the ankles and cut them open from the pubic bone to the breastbone." He made a jutting motion, and Zana flinched. She looked as sick as Burke felt.

Urko stopped in mid-motion, still slightly hunched, as if struck by a sudden inspiration. He straightened. „You know what? Why not start right away?" His teeth shone in a wide grin. „After all, you don't need a trial to gut an animal. And they should already be dead, shouldn't they, Zana?" The doc hiccuped a sob as Galen drew her into his arms.

Urko nodded to someone behind Burke and he felt strong hands clasp his upper arms and draw them behind his back. He stumbled as his warden dragged him at Virdon's side.

So, this was it? His tongue was like paper, sticking to the roof of his mouth.

The yard was silent, the only sound the soft scraping as Urko unsheathed his knife...

„That's _my_ knife, you damn monkey!"

His ANSA knife, damn that ape to hell! He'd be gutted with his own fucking knife!

The gorilla chuckled. „The irony, huh? Well, in that case..." He moved to Virdon, „I'll start with your friend." He gave Burke a sideways glance. „I took good care of it for you. Kept it clean and sharp. See?" He slipped the tip of the blade under the neckline of Virdon's shirt and fished out the chain of his necklace. He held it up for a moment, the pendants dangling from the blade. Then he gave it a tiny flick.

The metal clinked onto the stones at Virdon's feet.

Urko let his hand rest against Virdon's collarbone, the edge of the blade caressing his throat. Virdon stood motionless, pale but unflinching, as a thin red line suddenly ran along the edge and spilled over the side of the blade. Only the rapid blinking of his eyes betrayed his distress.

Then suddenly, the tilting blade stopped. Urko cocked his head as if in deep thought, regarding his work so far. „You know," he said abruptly, „there are breeders up North who would pay a nice sum for you. Of course, they then would _make_ a far greater sum with you afterwards. There are people who select their humans by color, and yours is unusual enough." He ran his other hand gently through Virdon's hair. Al didn't move; the blade was still resting against his neck.

„Not that I'd defy the council's orders for such a selfish reason." The blade started to move downwards and came to a rest just under his breastbone at a slightly upward angle; pointing to the heart. Virdon stared straight ahead, his face expressionless.

„Did they tell you where you'd be going? Going North by any chance?"

It was a transparent maneuver, and Burke didn't buy it, not for a second, but it was a good stage prompt. „Don't try that mindfuck on us!" he hissed, throwing himself against his captor's grip; he managed to make the guard stumble, who apparently hadn't anticipated any resistance at all.

Fucking pathetic monkey.

He was jerked back into position, and the grip around his upper arms tightened like a vise, but his hands were still free; humans were no match against apes when it came to raw strength, so their guards were not at all worried that they'd break their grip. Burke continued to squirm and struggle nonetheless.

Urko hadn't even glanced at him. His eyes were boring into Virdon's, who swallowed hard as the blade now lay across his navel. If Urko decided to cut there, it would be a nasty death.

„You see," Urko said softly, „humans caught in the wild cannot be tamed, not really, unless you catch them while they're still very young..."

The blade slid _still_ deeper. Burke froze. Virdon stilled even more, not even breathing.

„So if you want to put an adult wildling to use, you have to cut it down to size."

The knife came to a rest at Virdon's crotch. Urko pressed the blade against the fabric, hitching it up a bit so that the edge slipped under his scrotum. Virdon's eyes widened.

„And that's why," Urko breathed into his ear, „they're usually gelded. I told the staff at the lab that I have dibs on your balls, since they didn't want to give me your heads. I guess now I'll get both them _and_ the sight of you bleeding out at my feet. Ain't I a lucky man?"

Burke didn't think his voice would work, dry as his throat was. It sounded pressed, and hoarse, and much too loud when he ground out:

„Urko. Catch."

The second grenade from Zaius' private collection wobbled between the ape's feet with a metallic scrape; it was hard to throw just with a flick of your wrist.

Urko jumped back, Burke jerked his body around to bring his guard between himself and the explosion. For a second, nothing happened.

 _This can't_ _be happening, I got a dud..._

Then the blast pushed him to the ground.

* * *

Zana felt a sharp tug on her collar as Galen yanked her up on her feet again; he pushed her forward, „Go! Go!" and she stumbled, coughing, blind in the swirling dust. When her eyes stopped watering, Peet and Alan were running alongside her, down another winding alley.

Alan finally stopped and pulled them into another archway and Zana sank down into a crouch, winded. Everyone was grimy; Alan spotted a new bruise from his dive to the ground when the blast struck, and the hem of his collar was stiff with dried blood. Both men were caked with dust and sweat. They would stick out from all the clean, groomed apes like pigs in a flower shop.

„We need to get out _now,_ _"_ Peet panted. „After this, the city will be on lockdown as soon as Urko stumbles into the nearest watch house. The streets will be crawling with guards!" He took a deep breath. „Damn gorilla _still_ has my knife! Didn't even let go when he dove for cover!"

„You couldn't have thrown that thing a bit sooner?" Alan was leaning forward, hands on his knees, looking as exhausted as Zana felt. „If he'd startled..." he made an upward flicking move with his hand.

„That chimp had my arms pinned behind my back! Took me a lot of wriggling and squirming against his crotch to distract him from what I was doing! But hey, you're welcome. Call me any time your manhood needs saving." Peet sank down into a crouch, too, trying to catch his breath. „We need a new plan, right now." He turned to look at her. „And Zana..." He shook his head. „I'm afraid you're in this with us now. You can't stay here."

She felt new panic bubbling up inside her at his words. „I... I can't leave! My father... he's not been well lately. His heart..."

Peet regarded her with something like pity. „I'd say seeing his daughter hang would be worse for his heart than knowing she's outsmarting the state somewhere out there." He waved in the general direction of the city walls.

Zana buried her face in her hands. She should have stayed back and written those death certificates... but the patrol had found Galen and the humans all the same, and then she'd been in trouble just as well, only she wouldn't have seen it coming - they'd just arrested her at home, or at the institute.

She should've... but what could she have done differently?

Nothing. If she could go back, she'd do it all again.

She lifted her head and nodded. Peet nodded back, and she felt a strange measure of peace at that gesture. Peet was... a friend. He wouldn't let anything bad happen to her.

Neither would Galen. Or Alan.

„We are all... what did you call it? White hats."

A slow smile spread over Peet's face. „Yeah, that's what we are. The magnificent four."

„Although right now, we probably shouldn't be," he added after a moment of thought. „Two apes and two humans" - he frowned at Alan - „and one of them with a damn unusual hair color... that makes for a terrific 'Wanted!' poster."

Alan wiped the sweat from his face, making dark patches in the dust. „I don't see how we can change our appearance except for splitting up." He ran his hand through his hair. „And perhaps shaving my head..."

„No! No, don't shave it," Zana said hastily. „You'll only get sunburn later." And it was just too nice to cut it off, but she didn't say that aloud. The men wouldn't be understanding of her frivolity in the face of danger. Then she had an idea.

„If we split up, Alan, you're with me. We're near the dyers' quarters - I can smell them, can't you? - and I'll just rub some dye into your hair to make it darker. It probably won't stick for long, but it doesn't have to." She looked askance to Galen, who had been scribbling madly the whole time.

„Here - I'm afraid it's a bit scraggly." He pressed a piece of paper into her hand. She stared at it, confused.

Peet laughed incredulously. „You swiped the paper from Zaius' desk?"

„And the wax, and the seal," Galen confessed. „I thought I might need to switch identities later..."

Alan shook his head in admiration. „You're a forward-thinking ape, Galen. It makes me feel a bit better when I think about our chances out there..."

„Yeah, we need to get out first before we can start tweaking them." Peet stood. „So, we split up, that's a good idea. Where do we meet up again?"

Zana and the others rose, too. „We could meet at my tree," she suggested. Galen nodded. „Galen knows where it is," she explained to the humans. „Whoever arrives first will wait for the others..."

„No longer than nightfall," Alan warned. „We need to get well ahead of them - it won't take them long to expand their search for us beyond the city if they can't find us here. If the other group doesn't turn up after dark, assume that they've been captured. And _do not_ attempt to free them. Save yourselves - and I'll do the same for Zana in the reverse case," he added towards Galen. „I'll keep her safe, I promise."

„How noble of you," Zana said, irritated. Yes, Galen had saved her from that terrible guard, but Alan hadn't looked so superior, either, just moments ago. „Let's go and dye your hair."

They didn't say goodbye - by an unspoken understanding, none of them wanted to invoke bad luck.

* * *

The plant dye hadn't taken as well as Zana had hoped, resulting in a strange, reddish-brown mottle that clashed with Alan's skin tone, but at least the dust had been cleaned out of his hair and from his face when he had dunked his head into a water barrel to rinse it out. She was trying to ignore the sideways glances from the other apes crowding the stalls of the main market; at least they always had enough of breathing space, as people were giving them a wide berth.

Zana sniffed defiantly. If anyone asked, she had just come in from a village to the South and yes, the road had been very dusty indeed, and - she glanced at Alan's appearance - there had been an incident with a farmer's cart...

She grabbed his wrist and quickly ducked into a stall selling bright silk scarves; the long fabrics would hopefully hide them from the black figures now pushing through the packed paths between the vendors. She ran a scarf through her fingers that was flecked in various shades of green and yellow and thought of Zibaya; it would conceal her head and even part of her face...

„It's a lovely shade, isn't it?" The Orangutan beside her held up a pink scarf to her face that clashed painfully with her ruddy fur. Zana smiled, grateful at the opportunity to blend in as just another customer.

„It really is. I'll take this one," she said to the vendor. From the corner of her eye, she saw the black uniforms drawing closer. She paid the ape and quickly slung the scarf over her head.

„Oh dear, you really should only wear this on feast days," the Orangutan clucked her tongue and handed her money to the vendor. „It'll probably just catch all the dust and chaff from the barn."

Zana blinked, then looked down her crumpled and dusty robe. Well, she had decided to pose as a poor villager, hadn't she? The other woman's remark still grated on her - very few Chimps lowered themselves to digging in the dirt. Farming was Gorillas' work.

The patrol was slowing down; Zana desperately sought for something to keep the Orangutan around for a moment longer. „Well, I admit, I hadn't even planned on buying it, but the colors are so striking..."

„Down, you!"

Zana looked around, and finally, down. A small, plump Orangutan boy was imperiously pointing to the floor while gazing up at Alan, who, after a bemused glance towards her, sank into a crouch before him.

„Good boy," the child said approvingly. Then he frowned at Alan's bruised face. „Or have you been bad? What did your master punish you for?"

„Umm... nothing. It was an accident," Alan answered, a bit taken aback.

The boy looked to her for confirmation, and Zana nodded. „A farmer's cart toppled on the road and I had Alan help them," she used the story she had thought up earlier.

„Oh. So he's that strong?" The boy eyed Alan thoughtfully. „Can I have him?" he asked abruptly. „Can you buy him for me, Mom?"

„Why do you want to have him?" Zana asked, flabbergasted.

The boy shrugged. „Because. Mom, can I have him?"

Zana started to shake her head in exasperation when she caught the expectant look of the Orangutan she had been chatting up. She couldn't believe it - but apparently, here was one of those parents who never refused any of their child's demands. Zana took a deep breath.

The patrol was outside their stall now, right beyond the scarves swaying in the breeze. Alan was still crouching before the boy, out of sight of the guards. She was partly hidden behind the hangers, partly concealed by her new scarf, amicably chatting with a respectable Orangutan matron.

She just needed a few more moments.

„I'm sorry," she said, „but he's one of my late father's humans. He's one of the few things my father left me, and I can't give him up. He has... sentimental value." At her feet, Alan was ducking his head, probably trying to hide a grin. Or a frown. It was a sensitive topic for him and Peet.

„But I wanna!" The boy was scrunching his face, the prelude to a temper tantrum that Zana knew all too well from her human cubs, although none of them was a spoilt brat like this one. She had to nip this in the bud if she didn't want the guards to turn on their heels and come see what the ruckus was all about.

„Tell you what," she said quickly. „I'm on my way back to my village, and if your mother is also finished with her shopping, you can ride on my human's shoulders, at least until we have to part ways."

The boy sniffed, but nodded and began to climb on Alan's backpack. The human braced his hands against the floor as the additional weight pushed him forward, but struggled to his feet without a word.

Zana felt sorry for Alan, who had to suffer in silence as the boy jammed his heels into his chest and yanked at his hair in an effort to spur him on and direct him around corners (which was completely unnecessary, as Alan was following them anyway), but two ape women chatting and laughing while the little sunshine was riding the - obviously! - _Orangutan_ _'_ _s_ human were such a far cry from what Urko's men were looking for that she just couldn't pass up the opportunity.

She had guessed right - the guards didn't even ask for her papers. She kept on walking down the road, not daring to look back even once, and listened with half an ear to the woman's chatter. Behind them, the boy boasted to Alan how he had stolen a cake once and blamed one of his father's humans, who had then suffered a beating for it.

It would be another five miles until they'd come to a fork in the road where she could finally part ways with those two.

„I was _so_ smart, Father never found out. Humans are dumb, come on, say it! " she heard the boy say.

There was a moment of silence.

„That human certainly felt tricked," Alan finally murmured.

„Humans don't feel things like we do," the boy retorted. Zana didn't like where this was going.

But Alan didn't say anything else after that.

* * *

„Why the hell do I have to carry all of _your_ stuff now, too? It's not as if my backpack isn't heavy enough as it is!"

Zana's human (he still thought of them as her humans, although technically, she had never owned them) crossed his arms and frowned at him, and Galen fervently wished she'd stayed around. He had never interacted that much with his father's servants, but he doubted that it would have helped him here, anyway; this human had lived in freedom for most of his life and had no concept of his proper place in relation to an ape.

He resorted to authority.

„Because that's how it is here - humans are beasts of burden, and we would just draw unwanted attention if passersby started wondering why I'm not properly using the human I have with me. And soon enough, the guards would start wondering, too." He dumped his backpack into Peet's arms, who took it with a muttered growl.

Galen eyed him warily. He found the humans fascinating - they were extraordinarily intelligent, and expressive, and he wanted to start asking them about the events in the Book as soon as he had the opportunity, but he had been content to leave their handling to Zana, who had been working with humans for years and knew what she was doing. To be alone with one of them all of a sudden made him as uneasy as if someone had put a leash in his hand that was attached to a lion. Or an ostrich. Or any other large, unpredictable, and potentially dangerous animal. He had twice seen Peet attack an ape now, and both times it had ended badly for the ape. Never mind that it had been to help them escape - it had showcased a side of them he had been happy to forget about.

But despite his momentary rebellion, Peet followed him obediently enough after that, and he allowed himself to relax a bit. They turned South towards Farmer's Gate, because hopefully, Urko would assume that they'd take the shortest route, though Galen wasn't too optimistic about that - from what he knew of him, the Gorilla was a smart man, and would have _all_ gates closely guarded.

They now consciously kept to the main streets that were bustling with apes as the day grew longer. It was almost noon, which meant lots of apes were spilling into the streets to grab something to eat in the cafés or from street vendors, or were bringing their lunch to the parks - more people for them to mingle with; hopefully they were blending into the crowd.

„Try to act as if you really were Yuma from somewhere else, and not Galen already expecting the worst as soon as you see a uniform," Peet growled when they spotted the first patrol from afar. „That was a pitiful performance you gave, last time."

„I'm sorry, I have no experience with conning people," Galen said, trying to keep his tone light. „Although studying the law, you'd think they should have made a class for it." He was rewarded by an amused snort.

„Just remember who you're _supposed_ to be, not who you think you really are. Because right now, you can't be Galen anymore."

It wasn't the kind of advice Galen would have expected from the human. From what Zana had told him, they both had sounded like respectable men - a kind of soldier, like... well, Urko wasn't what he'd call 'respectable.' But he couldn't bring himself to put them on the same level with Urko.

Anyway, Galen wouldn't have thought the humans would be so smooth when it came to assuming false identities. These two were frighteningly cunning. He was glad that they were on the same side of this mess as Zana and him.

He fleetingly wondered what would happen if they decided to be on the side of the humans of his world.

The patrol passed them without even glancing at them, and Galen allowed himself a tiny sigh of relief and an equally tiny sliver of hope that this time, they would be lucky. He could already see the gate.

„Well, if that isn't Galen! I thought you were working for the council now - did you take a day off?"

Galen closed his eyes and suppressed a frustrated hiss. How had he become so popular? People had never been as eager to stop him in the streets as today, it seemed.

„And I thought you'd be wasting your time on your father's estate, Melvin," he quipped, turning towards the Chimp who had stopped him in his tracks. Life had been good to Melvin, he noticed; the ape had begun to cultivate an impressive pouch.

„Oh, I am, I am, but you know how it is - sometimes you just need to get out, meet people, enjoy civilisation for a change," Melvin said dismissively. He looked him up and down. „What happened to you? Had a roll in the hay with a secretary?" He wheezed with laughter.

Galen used the momentary respite to grasp for an explanation for his rumpled exterior. „I'm on holiday, and if you must know, I've taken up bird watching."

„Bird..." That prompted another round of ooks; behind him, Peet coughed.

Well. It was the best he'd been able to come up with, and now he had to stick to it.

„What do you think I need all that equipment for?" he waved to Peet who was packed to the hilt with his own and Galen's supplies. „We'll be down in the marches for a week. It will be very... educational."

Melvin was wiping his eyes. „Come on, Galen - what are you really up to?"

Right. Melvin was the son of a councillor, just like himself, _of course_ he wouldn't believe that someone could simply enjoy an innocent hobby. Galen tried to ignore the black clad apes passing them. He was just a simple citizen, chatting with a very obviously well-off ape who'd be seriously pissed to be accosted by Urko's grunts.

That meant he had to keep that conversation going.

„Well, to be honest..." Galen leaned in confidentially, „actually it is Zaius' hobby. I just hope to get him to introduce me to the inner circle by... finding common interests."

„Well, you're certainly ready to make great sacrifices for the sake of your career," Melvin said, still amused. He circled Peet. „Your poor beast is almost breaking down under all that gear." He quickly ran an experienced hand down Peet's legs. „He's wiry, I'll give you that, but really, Galen - you should've taken a heavier one. A whole week, and he'll be ready to be taken in."

With a last clap on Peet's backside, he returned to Galen. „Enjoy your holiday, I guess. Tell me how it goes with Zaius." He shook his head, still chuckling, as they parted ways.

Galen tensed as they ambled towards the gate: the guards were checking _everyone_ _'_ _s_ paperwork. A throng of people had already built up as a result, shoving and pushing, impatient to get out. Galen hoped the atmosphere of irritation they created would be distracting enough for the guards. He handed Peet's documents to the ape, together with his own papers. By now he felt so numb with exhaustion that he at least didn't tremble anymore, like he had done earlier that morning.

Oh, how long ago that had been.

The guard scanned the papers, gave their owners a bored once-over, and handed them back. _Now_ Galen's hands were trembling. It couldn't be that easy! Not after all those close encounters...

The crowd behind him pushed him on. He slowly set one foot in front of the other, people pressing into him from all sides, a big, lazy beast swallowing them whole and hiding them in its belly from Urko's searching eyes.

The crowd finally began to thin out, as people were splitting up at the crossroads. He and Peet left the road completely after a turn that hid them from the city's view, and disappeared into the bushes. No need to test their luck - Urko's men could be already searching the area, sending mounted patrols down the roads.

Peet unceremoniously dumped his bag into his arms. „I wish, I really, _really_ wish you apes would stop groping me." He smacked the back of his neck. „Damn mosquitoes!"

Galen hadn't lied to Melvin when he had told him they'd be in the marches, though he hoped they wouldn't spend a week there. A cloud of mosquitoes was swarming both of them with a hungry buzz. But he was too relieved to worry about them, or the human's griping.

So he just shrugged on his backpack and turned to lead the way. „Let's go then, before they eat us alive."

They were several miles south of the city now, and since they would need to stay away from the roads, it would take them the better part of the afternoon to circle back north.

Where they hopefully... no, _certainly..._ would meet Zana and Alan at her tree.

* * *

Virdon didn't like the place that Zana had selected for their meeting; the hill's crest was bare, save for a tall holly oak, and while it provided a nice panoramic view of the area and the city below, it was also lacking any kind of cover for him and Zana. So they had set up camp in an overgrown hollow in the slope of the hill; they could still see the oak, and any visitors arriving at that spot, from their hiding place in the thickets.

Zana had taken off her shoes and was digging her toes into the cool soil. Virdon smiled in sympathy; his feet were aching, too. He knew that this wasn't going to change any time soon - they would be walking (and occasionally running) many miles every day from now on - but he refrained from mentioning it to her. She was holding up remarkably well, all things considered, but he knew that sometimes it only needed the proverbial last straw to break the camel's back.

He took a long draw from his water bottle and gestured to her to do the same. „We have a lot of walking ahead of us tonight. Better rehydrate and get as much rest as you can."

Zana followed his example, but shook her head when he encouraged her to eat. Her shoulders were drooping and she was staring down at her hands in her lap. Virdon regarded her for a moment.

„I'm really sorry that you got caught up in all of this," he said softly.

She smiled a wry smile into her hands. „Caught up? I signed up for 'all of this' when Zaius asked me - he knew how long I had applied for working with adult humans and he made me an offer I simply couldn't resist." She shook her head and stared uphill, at the silhouette of the oak.

„You lost your necklace."

He breathed in, slowly, carefully. „It's not important. I keep them here." He pointed to his heart.

„I went up there, after... yesterday," Zana said, almost inaudibly. „I always went there as a child when I needed to get away from the world." She swallowed. „I really thought I had killed you. Even with the anaesthetic, the odds were overwhelmingly against you."

Virdon followed her gaze. „Even if we had died," he said slowly, „there would have been no blame on you. You had at least tried to save us." He looked at her. „Thank you for sparing my life, Dr. Zana."

She smiled at that, a bit tremulously. Her fingers were knotting in her lap.

„All I had is gone, my career, my work, my... my home... my father will never know what happened..." She bit her lip, trying to hold back her tears.

Virdon put his arm around her shoulders then. They sat there in silence for a while, watching the sky go pale and dark, and darker.

Finally, Zana straightened with a sniff. „I don't know about you, but I'll wait here until either Galen or Urko turns up."

He just smiled and tightened his arm around her shoulders.

It was almost midnight when Galen's and Pete's silhouettes appeared under the tree. From their startled reactions, neither of them had expected them to wait around.

„Well I guess you can afford to disregard your own orders, Colonel," Pete whispered sardonically; but he couldn't hide his relief over their presence. Virdon thought that it was unfortunate that he couldn't allow them to get some rest, too, but the waning moon was already high up in the sky - there weren't many hours of darkness left.

„Galen, do you still have some of that paper?" Zana asked after she released him from her hug. Virdon frowned when the other ape took off his backpack and began to dig for the required items.

„What do you need that stuff for now?" Pete asked. „We don't have time for this!" The proximity of the city made him nervous, too.

„I'll write a note for my father," Zana was already scribbling. „And we do have time for this, Peet, at least I have. You can go ahead if you want to; I'll catch up with you in a minute."

„A letter for your father? Now? Why not drop Urko a note where we're going, while you're at it?" Pete said, irritated.

„Eat something, Peet, you're insufferable right now!"

Virdon took a breath. „Zana..."

„I'll hide it in the tree! Only my father knows that I'd go there, and he'll try to find me, and then he'll find the note!" Her pen flew over the page.

„And Urko's men will be following him, hoping he'll lead them to us. _They_ will read that note before your father ever gets it. _If_ he ever gets it at all!" Pete sounded increasingly exasperated.

„I'll just tell him what happened, not where we'll go. They won't learn anything new from it." She looked up. „Don't underestimate my father," she said fiercely. „He isn't stupid, or careless. They'll never know about this."

So they stood there in silence, waiting impatiently for her to finish, and climb up into that tree, and climb down again. Only Galen didn't seem to be in a hurry as he gazed down at the city's lights. Virdon suspected that his thoughts echoed Zana's from before: he had lost his old life, too, in exchange for dangerous knowledge and dangerous company.

But as Zana had pointed out, they had made their choices at that time, wisely or not, because they had felt the price for their acquiescence would be too steep. He had to respect them for that.

He did respect them for that. It was an immensely brave thing to do.

„Come on," he said, when Zana finally dropped out of the tree again. „We still have a long way to go before we can rest."


	12. Chapter 12

Despite his official title as Defender of the Faith, Zaius didn't consider himself to be a religious ape. A life in the political arena had taught him very quickly that there was no such thing as divine intervention, and that justice was a fragile thing that had to be served and protected by ape, and ape alone.

Today though, he found himself staring out of the window of his study, holding onto a copy of the Sacred Scrolls. It rested unopened in his hand; he knew the verses by heart. It was just that the feel of the scroll was soothing to him, somehow.

Behind him, the locksmith fit a new lock into the door to his private study. Zaius allowed himself a tiny, ironic smile at that. It didn't matter anymore; the damage had already been done.

Man had taken back one of his weapons - weapons that Urko had shown them - and used it against Ape. Five soldiers had died in the explosion, and eight had been wounded, some of them badly.

And now the humans had escaped, like fire that jumped from building to building and over the city walls, racing through the fields and forests, devouring the world that Ape had toiled to build from the ruins of Man. Urko was determined to find them, plotting the hunt with his commanders somewhere, but Zaius knew better. It was already too late.

The humans were out in the world now, and with them two young apes, their hearts already bent towards them, their minds filled with a knowledge that, without wisdom to guide it, was poisonous. He had no doubt that they would sooner or later share that forbidden knowledge with the humans.

He unrolled the scroll and read.

Beware the beast man, for he is the scourge of Earth.

He alone among primates

kills for sport, or lust, or greed.

Yea, he will murder his brother

to possess his brother's land.

Let him not breed in great numbers

for he will make a desert of his home and yours.

Shun him!

Drive him back into his lair!

For he is the harbinger of death.

* * *

„They'll either try to get into the badlands directly, or travel up North, beyond the mountains. If I were them, I'd try to get into strays' territory as quickly as possible, but since it's a mixed group, that's not a given, so we'll cover all our bases." Urko cracked his knuckles.

He wouldn't admit it, but he was enjoying himself.

„We know that a human can make about twenty miles per day, they may not be that fast with the dear doctor travelling with them, but let's be generous here. That means we'll send out messengers to all prefectures in that radius for perimeter duty. I want guards at every bridge, tunnel, main road and byroad.

„I also want patrols going door to door - make it crystal clear to people that I'll regard everyone who is helping or hiding them to be an enemy of the state. They can make up their mind if they want to enjoy the breeze together with our outlaws, or not."

He'd have preferred to offer a reward instead of just continued living, but that was Zaius' business and so far, the council hadn't yet uttered a single word about allocating cash for rewards. The old fool was probably on his knees in his study right now, muttering verses from the Scrolls. Urko growled in disgust.

„I want every single barn, farmhouse, roadhouse, townhouse and temple to be searched. Nelva," his new second in command caught the pen he chucked towards him, „draw up a grid and apportion your search parties - I want the fields, the woods, and the rivers combed, and I'm talking of a fine-toothed comb here. Grab the farm lads to stock up the cordons, if necessary."

He leaned back and surveyed his map.

„Go get them."


End file.
